The Arrow Saga: The Tale of the Sensitive
by t.j.guard
Summary: Rumpelstiltskin has for centuries searched for his son, but what he never knew was that Bae was doing the same thing, and it has led him on a strange and twisted path through lands corrupted by dark magic and populated by heroes lost to legend.
1. The Curse

The Arrow Saga: The Tale of the Sensitive

Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon a Time or Peter Pan, or Peter Pan in Scarlet, for that matter.

A/N: Independent of everything else I've done for this fandom. AU as of 2X09.

The Curse

It wasn't even a plan. It was more like a last desperate bid for...for whatever he hoped to achieve. His lungs burned for air, but if he stopped running, he was dead. Something thwacked hard against a tree trunk. They were close. The trees began to thin out. If he made the beach, he was free.

His feet slid into the sand. He stumbled for a bit but kept running. An arrow whistled past his ear. He ducked and tripped over his own feet. He struggled to stand but was hastily and unceremoniously shoved aside. "What do you think you're doing?" He recognized the voice of the captain, and he looked up. "I said, what do you think you're doing?" He opened his mouth to speak but ended up coughing instead. The captain hoisted the boy to his feet by his upper arm. An arrow buried itself into the sand next to them. "Maybe there is a legitimate reason for you to run into me."

"I'm gonna die," the boy rasped.

The captain released him, and he collapsed to the sand. "Better keep running."

"Where do I go?"

The captain smirked. "You're a Lost Boy."

"Not anymore. That's why they're hunting me."

"So he finally tired of one of you. Like I said, keep running."

"And as I said, where do I go? They won't stop until I'm dead."

The captain grabbed the boy by the hair and jerked him up again. Then his eyes widened. "You're the little boy from the bar all those years ago, Milah's son. And that crocodile's." He snarled his last sentence and threw the boy to the ground. The arrow shaft snapped in two beneath his shoulder blades.

"His name is Rumpelstiltskin," the boy snapped.

"No wonder you're a Lost Boy." The boy kicked the captain's legs out from under him, rolled over on top of him, and punched him in the nose. Then he sat there, breathing heavily and staring at the captain's wide eyes and and the blood trickling down the side of his face.

"Listen to me, Hook," Bae snarled (for the first time in a long time, he felt like his old self), "you will not ever, EVER, insult my father again." Hook paled. "Do you understand?" The captain nodded, and Bae stood and stepped aside. Hook stood and dusted himself off with the hand that he still had. "Now, I'm getting off this island one way or another."

"And you assumed I'd help you," Hook said, raising an eyebrow.

"I knew you had a ship. If you kill me for being a stowaway, I'd rather that than be captured by that boy Pan. He makes you look like a saint."

"Excuse me while I try to figure out whether or not to thank you for that." Bae paused and looked around. "What is it this time?"

"They should've come by now," Bae said softly.

"They're lying in wait, toying with you."

Bae tipped his head toward the arrows in the sand. "Pretty sure they weren't toying with me then."

"All of life's a game to your lot."

The Lost Boy turned slowly toward the forest and then took a small step back. Hook's eyes slowly drifted away from the minor but persistent annoyance of a boy, and his irritation instantly dissolved into dread.

A rolling black cloud had smothered the forest and obscured the stars, and it was racing toward them. "What is that thing?" Hook asked.

"Not sure," Bae replied, "but I don't like it." The cloud swirled around them. Bae reached for it, but it recoiled from him. "Stay close to me. I don't think it will touch us."

"You're sure about this?"

"Positive."

Hook looked around at the cloud and then up at the column that it formed, with them at the center. He and Bae stood back to back, both staring at the top of the column, a circle of stars that danced like frightened fairies. Then the cloud obscured even these points of light. Bae put his hands to his temples, stumbled two steps, and collapsed. Hook turned toward him, and then he collapsed, as well.


	2. The Lead

The Lead

TWENTY-EIGHT YEARS LATER

Bae drew the arrow back and anchored, feeling the fletch dig in his cheek, and then he released. The arrow landed in the trunk of the tree he was aiming at. It wasn't often the thwack of the arrow coming to rest in a target reminded him of Neverland, and even when it did, it seemed three worlds away. But that time, he remembered the captain whom he regarded as an omen of his freedom. He remembered the night he escaped Neverland, and he remembered the people he left behind, other Long Lost Children like himself.

He drew another arrow and whispered a single word down the shaft: "Morraine." The arrow landed in the center of the cluster of the ones he'd been shooting that morning. He walked over to the trunk and plucked each of the arrows from the wood and examined their tips before dropping them into the quiver at his hip. If Mulan returned with news of a way to return to the place the newcomers called Storybrooke, that meant a possible way he could reach the Nowhereland and make good on his promise.

He returned to his position ten paces away from the tree and turned to face it. The trunk was riddled with holes, and the bark had started to flake away in some spots. The holes farther from his target showed signs of weathering, and he gave a proud smile at his consistency. When he lived in the village in the Frontlands, he hadn't heard of or been able to afford to take up archery. Now, after three hundred years in Neverland and the casting of the curse, he'd found archery as the ideal medium for sorting out his thoughts, venting his frustrations, and killing things for food or self-defense.

"Wondered where you were," said a village boy behind him. Bae turned to face the one who called himself Alec.

"Getting in some practice," Bae replied. "Just in case."

"Just in case of what?"

"I'm making travel plans."

"Are you nuts? Have you seen it out there?"

"Ogres, wraiths, giants, hell hounds, krackens in the seas. I've heard all the stories."

"They're worse than they are in the stories."

"That's why I'm getting ready." Besides, Bae thought, the Nowhereland is worse than anything anyone said about the world beyond the haven. "Well, that's morning practice done, I should think. Anything good for lunch?"

"Depends on your definition of good."

"Edible?"

"Technically."

Bae laughed. It was just like home.

OUAT

"What do you mean the curse didn't take him?" Rumpelsiltskin asked.

"I mean what I said," Smee replied. "The curse didn't take him. He didn't come here with the rest of us."

"So where is he?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know, or you won't tell me?"

"I seriously don't know."

"So start telling me what you do know."

"We...we went to Neverland, so we would never grow old. We were there for a long time, three centuries, I think it was, and then the curse hit. There were...Lost Boys."

"Lost Boys?" Rumpelstiltskin asked, this time genuinely interested.

"Yeah, all sorts. A set of twins, skinny kids, fat kids, kids of all colors, from all kinds of lands and time periods..." Smee's eyes drifted to a charcoal sketch behind Rumpelstiltskin. "One of them...looked like that."

Rumpelstiltskin glanced back and quickly noticed the portrait. He grabbed it and returned to his chair quickly in spite of his limp. "You've seen this boy?"

"Yeah, several times. Haven't spoken to him, though. He was one of them, a Lost Boy, and he made them attack us."

"This boy?"

"No, not him. The ginger kid, Pan. Peter Pan."

"Peter Pan has this boy in his keeping."

"Last time I checked, which was before the curse, so who knows where either of them are now. Haven't seen 'em in Storybrooke, that's for sure."

"So do you think your captain and this boy are in the same place?"

"Could be. The Enchanted Forest does still exist, otherwise those two women would've disappeared off the face of the earth or come back. I can't be sure. I haven't been around magic hats in a long time."

"So you know about Jefferson's predicament. What else do you know?"

"Bits and pieces. You probably already know a lot of it, given that you're the Dark One and you know everything. Almost." Rumpelstiltskin nodded and got to his feet. "Hey, you're not gonna kill me over the fights with your son, are you?"

"For the reason that you might be the key to finding him, I'll keep you alive." Smee relaxed the chair he was tied to and watched Rumpelstiltskin walk out of the basement.

OUAT

"Hello, Henry." Henry looked up from his hot chocolate and cinnamon to find Mr. Gold standing next to his booth. "May I join you?"

"Yeah, sure," Henry replied. "What're you doing here?"

Gold sat across from Henry and asked, "Do you still have your book?"

"...Yeah. What's this about?"

"I'm interested in a certain fairy tale. Peter Pan, I believe it is."

Henry shrugged. "Haven't seen it there."

"Oh. Thank you." Gold stood to leave.

"Seriously," Henry said. "What's this about?"

"I was just...curious."

Henry leaned back in his seat and chewed his lip.


	3. Memory Lane

Memory Lane

Rumpelstiltskin walked into the library and went straight to the card catalog. "Do you need something?" Belle asked, leaning against the desk.

"Actually yes," Rumpelstiltskin replied. "Do you have anything on Peter Pan?"

"Which version do you want?"

"The most accurate."

"Accurate is a relative term."

"I'm looking for something along the lines of Henry's book of fairy tales that turned out to be true."

"I haven't been through all these books, but so far I can't remember seeing anything like that. Why do you ask?"

"Do you remember Smee?"

"The man in the red hat?" Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "How could I forget?"

He removed a paper from his breast pocket and unfolded it, revealing the sketch of a teenager in a cloak. He smoothed the paper out on the desk as well as he could without smearing the drawing. "This boy is my son, and Smee has seen this boy. In Neverland."

"So why don't you question him?"

"I did. According to him, he hasn't spoken a word to the boy."

"Of course. Peter and his Lost Boys continually fought Hook and his pirates, though the reasons vary. The common version is that Peter cut off Hook's hand."

"Do any of the versions mention a boy fitting this description?"

"There's one version that comes to mind right now, actually. It mentions a Lost Boy the others haven't. There're no real descriptions, but I think it might help." She walked deeper into the library and returned several minutes later with a small, leather-bound book. "This should be it," she said.

He flipped through the book, searching for the illustrations, and then he spotted one of a black-haired Lost Boy seemingly engaged in an argument with the red-headed Peter Pan. The boy appeared to be about fourteen, but he was only seen in profile. Nonetheless, Rumpelstiltskin said, "That's him. That's Bae."

"Would you like to check out the book?"

"Yes, I would. Thank you."

Belle scrawled the due date on the inside front cover, slid the book back to him, and said, "I hope you find your son. I really do."

"Thank you, Belle." She smiled. He nodded to her and walked out.

OUAT

"I told you time and time again, this is no life," Bae snapped at Peter.

"So you wanna grow up," Peter replied.

"I don't want to be trapped. You've trapped us. We're stuck here, stuck as boys, just to amuse you and give you companionship."

"Where're you gonna go? The reason you're here is because your parents don't love you. They abandoned you, remember? You don't have any other options. You can't leave."

"Watch me."

OUAT

Bae snapped out of his thoughts and stared down the dusty village path, remembering something else.

OUAT

Bae slipped out of his father's house in the middle of the night, first checking to make sure Rumpelstiltskin was asleep, and then he walked over to Morraine's house and knocked on her window. Of course, she was already awake and was outside in a matter of a few minutes. "What're you doing out here?" she asked.

"I needed to get away for a while," Bae replied, "but I couldn't do it while he was awake."

She gripped his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "Everything's going to work out, Bae. You're going to be happy, and we're going to make sure that happens. That's a promise I intend to keep, no matter what."

"Even at cost to yourself? My father's dangerous now."

"He doesn't scare me. You know that."

"Just...be careful, alright?" Morraine nodded. "I should go now. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to talk, but he'd have noticed by now, or he will in a little while."

"I know." She gave him a quick hug and watched him return to Rumpelstiltskin's house. "Whatever I can," she whispered, "I'll do."

OUAT

Morraine might not have known it, but Bae did catch that whisper, and it made him fear for her life. He took a deep breath and a sip of ale, and he wondered where she was now.

"Takin' a trip down memory lane?" Alec asked, sitting at the table across from Bae.

"Yeah," Bae replied.

"By that look, I'd guess you're thinking about a girl. That the reason for your crazy travel plans?"

"I made a promise, and I'm gonna keep it."

"Even at the cost of your life?"

"Yep. A promise needs to be kept, but the only one I trust with my promises is myself."

"That's the safest way to do it."

Bae glanced at the pouch around Alec's neck. "What's that?"

"Oh, this?" Alec asked, picking up the pouch and letting it fall again. "Nothin', really. Just some seeds for the fields."

"Planting season was months ago."

"These are for next year."

"Then you're six months ahead of everyone else, and certain types of seeds don't keep that long in this weather, with our pests."

"That's why I'm wearing them around my neck." Bae nodded and dropped the subject for the time being. He studied the rest of the village, going about its daily affairs as if the curse weren't broken, as if everything was as it had been before anyone had even heard of the Dark Curse.

As if he hadn't felt instinctively and magically that the curse was the making of the Dark One.

Bae pushed the thought aside. He could address that when he made good on his promise and found a way to the place called Storybrooke so he could confront his father on the subject. If it was true his father was there.

He took another sip of ale. The village going about its business, just like normal, just like the world was small and life was easy. He smiled, again very nostalgic.


	4. The Seer

The Seer

Her head rolled to her chest. Her knotted hair fell in front of her sweat-drenched face, and her breathing was heavy. She looked up through her lashes at her ginger-haired captor, who again demanded what she had seen. "Sunrise," she replied. "A first sunrise. It burns like only the sun can. It is nothing you can manufacture. The light will finally penetrate the shell you have created around this world and bring it back to the Enchanted Forest."

"So where are we now?"

"The Nowhereland is now on the border of the haven, but the shell still exists."

"Where's Neverland?"

"The curse broke that shell, at least. The Never Never Land has been taken." He backhanded her. She released a breath and then glared at him, the fire burning through her deep brown eyes. "That is what I see, and that is what I know."

"And still the nightmares have not consumed you."

"And you have no reason to live."

"I've every reason to live. I will always be a boy and have fun."

"Not anymore. The Dark Curse has been lifted. Time moves again. For all of us."

"So how do I make it stop?"

"You can't, Pan. Even Time is no slave to you."

"Not even in the Nowhereland?"

"You wouldn't last a day here. This is your land of nightmares, remember? All nightmares, including your own worst ones. They are very, very real, and you've done this. You made them this way." He backhanded her again. "You know I speak the truth," she said. "Otherwise you wouldn't be so angry."

Peter Pan pressed his hand to her throat and slammed her head into the trunk of the tree. "I'll kill you for that."

"No you won't. You see too much of yourself in me. It would be a suicide to your mind, a death of a sense of self that you see in me and therefore a blow to your own sense of self." He started to squeeze the breath out of her. "You...need...me." He tore his fingers off her throat. She gasped and breathed deeply but kept her gaze level. "You need me, Pan. Otherwise you would know nothing of the world beyond this shell that you've created. Without me, you'd be trapped."

Peter Pan glared at her and then walked out of the forever-black clearing. One of the Long Lost Boys poked his head out from behind a dead, blackened tree and whispered, "Is he gone, Seer?"

"Yes," the Seer replied. "He's gone. Gone to the edge of the Nowhereland, as far as he dares to go."

"What do we do?"

"Give me a weapon," she said, "and I will win us our freedom."

OUAT

Morraine took a seat at the bar and began to study the table when she heard Rumpelstiltskin ask, "How long?"

"Two years," she replied.

"Only?" She smiled and nodded, and he sat next to her. "Do you want anything? Are you thirsty?"

"Actually, I'm here to see you."

"What for, dearie?"

"Baelfire's missing, and I heard you might need help looking for him."

"You want to help me find my son?"

"He's my best friend. Of course I do."

"So what's your plan?"

"He got sent to another world, yes?"

"Yes."

"So you send me to another world, or give me the means to get there and communicate with you, and I'll let you know if I've seen him. And if I find him, I swear to you I'll look out for him to the best of my ability."

"Thank you for that."

"Can you do it?"

"Well...I personally can't, but if you think of a way, I'll give you the means."

"How will I know them?"

"I will mark them for you and send them to follow you. They will answer to you alone."

"And I will use them for their intended purpose, to alert you to Bae's location should I find him. Do we have a deal?" Rumpelstiltskin smiled, and they shook hands. "Now, in honor of two years, cider?" His smile broadened, and he ordered two glasses of apple cider.

OUAT

"What do you see?" the boy asked. He returned with a sword that he seemed barely able to hold, even without the fact that it had suddenly begun to move toward the Seer.

"I do not see this time," she replied. "I think." The boy released the sword, and it slid toward her, stopping at her feet. "That doesn't help me." The sword balanced on its tip. "Can you cut me out of here?" The sword unsheathed itself and balanced in the air as if an invisible arm were wielding it. Then the blade swiped at the tree, cutting the ropes like butter. Her once-half-numb arms were suddenly tingling with the feeling of their full allotment of blood. She sheathed the sword and tied it around her waist. "Thank you," she said to the boy, who nodded in reply. "Now, I believe it's time we begin our exit."


	5. Tentative Connection

Tentative Connection

Rumpelstiltskin turned the key and twisted the knob, and he slipped inside the room that hadn't been used for centuries, except when Belle had found it and managed to gain entry to it, and when he was here for certain missions. All of Bae's clothes and his ball were exactly as he had left them. Most of the items were a little dusty, but Rumpelstiltskin had frequently made a point of maintaining those objects that Bae had valued, the ball included. He walked over to the bed, lay the portrait on the nightstand, sat down, and opened the book to the illustration of his boy. "What went wrong?" he whispered, studying the page but not really seeing anything. "What went wrong?"

OUAT

Weirdo. He would have to get used to that moniker, and he would especially have to get used to the sneers, snickers, and jokes the others gave him because of it. He'd never get used to the imaginary food or any other oddities of the new world he now inhabited, and that he knew after only a few days there.

And he was weird, too. So far as he knew, he was the only Lost Boy to want his family back. He was the only one to want to see his father again and ask him why he let him go. And until he found a way to do that, he had to figure out how to survive in an unfamiliar land.

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin wiped a tear from his eye and whispered, "I'm a coward and a fool, Baelfire." A coward and a fool whose biggest mistake was failing his son and whose whole life was based on an effort to correct it based on the word of a fairy who was more than capable of lying. Lying to him was one thing, but that flying blue bitch had lied to Bae. Bae!

He threw the book across the room and buried his face in his hands. "Baelfire," he said again. He looked up, his hands over his mouth, and thought, I will find you, no matter what I have to do.

OUAT

Bae looked up and peered into the sky, for a moment convinced he'd heard something, or someone. He heard someone call his name, his full name, and he was almost certain it sounded like his father. He felt the tendril of energy in the air, and he whispered, "Papa," just before it passed him by.

OUAT

"Papa?" Rumpelstiltskin whispered. "Someone called me Papa." He stood. "Bae? Is that you I hear?" But the thin thread of magic that he felt breaching the veil between worlds was gone. His possible link to Bae was gone. He sank to the bed, his first instinct to despair, but then he said, "Of course," and he stood again, took up his cane, and limped out of his son's room.

The thread he just felt must have been the key to finding his son. He was certain of it. He just needed to find the connection again and figure out how to utilize it.

OUAT

If that was his father, Baelfire could finally talk to him again, ask him why he let go. But he had to find out how to get the connection back and check his theory. He studied his surroundings for a moment and then shook his head to clear it. First, he'd need his bow and arrows, and then he'd need a plan. He couldn't wander beyond the haven without a plan of action and a sense of direction.

But he did have a plan. And a sense of where to go.

He returned to the village for his weapon, and then he walked down the cobblestone path toward the very edge of the haven and beyond.


	6. The Beginning of the Quest

The Beginning of the Quest

Morraine looked over her shoulder at the Long Lost Boys trailing behind her, and then she lay her hand on the hilt of the sword. It pulsed under her touch, keeping time with her heartbeat. "It will respond only to you," Rumpelstiltskin had said that day in the tavern. She mouthed the words to herself, and again she contemplated contacting the imp. Where would he be now? she wondered. What would he be doing? Would he be thinking of Bae or trying to move on with his life?

Of course he'd be looking for Bae, she reasoned. That was his whole reason for existing after...Morraine hadn't been able to figure out what terms to think of the incident in. Either Rumpelstiltskin dropped Bae on accident, or he let Bae go, but either way, whenever she saw him and tried to get information out of him, he refused to say a word.

Strange, she thought, not for the first time. Any other person he would've choked with the force of his mind and magic. To her, all he did was say nothing. Did he refuse to threaten her because of Bae?

The snap of a twig jerked her out of her thoughts, and she stopped the boys and pressed a finger to her lips. She turned back to the source of the sound, her hand still on the hilt of the sword, and then she took a step forward. The sound came again, closer this time. Come at me, she thought. I'm ready, and I'm going to win or die trying. A third twig snapped, and Morraine drew the sword. She held it level, her eye and hand steady.

A three-headed beast ten feet tall emerged from the trees and roared with all three of its sets of vocal chords. She closed her eyes against the wind but otherwise didn't flinch. "What do we do?" one of the boys asked, shrinking close behind one of his companions.

"Hush," Morraine whispered in reply. She eyed her new adversary. "What is this thing?"

"A nightmare creature," another boy replied. "We're as good as dead. We'll never get out of here."

"Hush. Just answer my questions and shut up. I've been tied to a tree for the past three hundred years, anyway, so I know a thing or two about being trapped. We're not trapped."

The beast sniffed at her with its middle nose, and she studied its beady eyes. Then she cut off the middle head and stepped aside as it landed with a dull thud amidst the leaves. The other two heads looked at each other as if they were confused, and then they turned to her and snarled. Morraine stared at the spot where the middle head should have been. "Shouldn't the head have grown back, just like in our nightmares?" she asked.

"Well, yes," a Long Lost Boy replied.

Morraine glanced at the blade, mostly covered in glowing crimson blood. The blade itself shone like the moon. "Rumpelstiltskin," she whispered, smiling softly and shaking her head. Then she made short work of the other two heads. The beast stumbled and then collapsed, and she wiped the sword off on the skirt of her dress, sheathed it, and started down their path yet again. The Long Lost Boys exchanged awed whispers behind her.

Morraine remembered suddenly that Rumpelstiltskin had given her the means to protect Baelfire from anything and everything. She also realized she probably always had the means to communicate with him, even if she didn't know what they were or how to use them. "Just get out of here first," she told herself. Just get out of here first.

OUAT

Bae turned off the beaten path and took a shortcut to the old Frontlands village. Though the forest was thicker than he remembered, it still brought back old memories: his father's attempt to flee with him, their meeting a beggar, his father becoming the Dark One, his father letting him go. It all happened in this forest.

He took a deep breath and continued on, part of his mind alert to the sounds of game he could shoot for food. Even the slightest sound made him pause, so he was sure to investigate when, when he finally came upon the village, he found it littered with bodies all arranged in neat rows. His mind immediately went to human involvement: mass murder. Questions: who, how, and why?

He pulled his bow off his back and one arrow from his quiver, and then he approached the village and the rows of bodies. Who would leave this arrangement after a killing spree? It looked like someone who was meticulous. A boy couldn't have done this, certainly not someone who'd been a boy for centuries, not a boy who wanted always to be a boy and have fun. This was the work of someone who wanted something and was willing to go to any and all lengths to get it. Now, who would want such a thing that badly, and what did they want?

The village itself was as barely-intact as he remembered, but he could easily find his old shack, right next to Morraine's. He turned away from the carnage and approached the center of the village.

But the more he advanced, the more he was overcome by the impression that he, but a lad of fifteen, was the only person alive.

There were people here, he thought suddenly. These people, in these eerily neat rows, were once alive. Was this another haven? Or was the haven larger than he had been told? Either way, it was no longer safe. He kept his bow ready.

He approached what was once his home and nudged the door open with his foot. Then he peered inside to find the shack empty even of furniture and the air full of dust. Of course. His father had abandoned this place after he became the Dark One.

He closed the door behind him and went over to the shack that was Morraine's. It was in a similar state of disuse, but at least it had furniture.

He closed this door and crossed the street to the house the Dark One had taken for himself. This building he found also empty of furniture. He sighed and turned to face the street. A brown-haired woman in black stood before him, smirking at him over her shoulder, which was angled toward him. So he wasn't the only living person at this village after all. Was this woman a visitor, too?

She flicked her wrist, and he dove onto the cobblestones. Maybe this was the killer of all those people, he thought. He drew the bow and fired, and with a wave of the hand, she reduced the arrow to dust and ashes. He strapped the bow to his back and turned to run. A blast of energy hit him square in the back, and he tumbled end over end before coming to rest in the dirt off the side of the road. He inhaled sharply and struggled to push himself up. His arms shook underneath him, and he stared up at the woman. She was still smiling.

He rolled onto his side, still staring at her. She studied him as if...interested? Did she have a use for him? Was he going to live?

Bae suddenly sprang forward and took off, but he felt another magic blast on his back. He tripped over himself and stumbled into the forest, ducking behind a tree and waiting. Waiting for any sign that the woman was approaching him. Waiting in hope for any sign that she had decided to let him go.

For a long moment, he heard and sensed nothing. Gingerly, he peeked out from behind the trunk. The village beyond was deserted so far as he could see. He dipped back into his hiding place and listened and kept his mind and senses open. Finally he satisfied himself that that witch had gone, and he walked down the path leading out of the village.


	7. The Journey Continues

The Journey Continues

Bae tossed the rabbit carcass into the forest for the scavengers, at least, the ones that remained, and checked over his arrows. Finding that each of them was sharp enough, he checked his bow string. Satisfied, he returned to the path, ever alert for the woman.

The bodies remained in their neat rows, untouched when he looked back. Bae turned and walked toward Frontlands Castle. He wondered what he'd see when he reached the castle, if he'd see a ruin with some parts coated in soot, or if he'd see something rebuilt, refurbished for some new duke to live in.

He remembered the old duke, his men's demises, Morraine's return from the front lines.

OUAT

Bae waited anxiously at the threshold for his father's return, though he was now completely terrified of the man he had become. Though the bodies had been cleared out of the street, the smell was still there, and the other villagers avoided it like it would give them the plague.

Rumpelstiltskin appeared in the street to a silent, awed crowd. Trailing behind him were the children of the village and some he didn't recognize. Maybe they went with the strange adults in the village. Standing at Rumpelstiltskin's side was Morraine, in a fresh blue dress but otherwise bruised, cut, and bleeding. Her hair was matted but as neatly arranged as possible. Her eyes were filled with fright, but she kept her expression calm, even when she met his gaze.

Bae knew instantly that something was wrong.

OUAT

He stopped on the road and stared up at the castle. It was, as he first thought, a ruin. He could even see the charred, dusty, moth-eaten remains of tapestries and the half-burned pieces of furniture. It must have been vacated after it was destroyed. Perhaps everyone who lived and worked here took the fire as a bad omen and didn't want to be there when it all came crashing down.

He took a deep breath and approached the ruins, and then he wondered what exactly he was looking for. He sighed and sank into a sitting position against what was left of one of the walls. He leaned back, rested his elbows on his knees, and chewed his lip. Maybe he could try to find that little thread of magic again, see if it led to his father, but that could prove useless. He didn't even know how it came to him in the first place.

He sighed and lay his head on the stones behind him.

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin finally found a secluded enough place in the woods surrounding Storybrooke that were enclosed within its limits, and he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths. But whatever connection he had felt to his son earlier that day was now completely lost. He opened his eyes and sighed. Maybe he was being fooled by fate, and now his son was lost to him forever. Maybe it was just a cruel trick of chance and he had to keep searching for a portal to get to his son.

He looked up at the horizon, where the moon balanced almost precariously, and then he turned and walked back toward Storybrooke.

OUAT

Bae's head snapped up and he blinked. He was almost convinced whoever he had tried to establish contact with that morning was trying to reach him again. He sighed and shook his head, and he pushed himself into a standing position with the help of the stone wall behind him.

The moonlight shone into the great hall, illuminating every aspect of the damage caused by the fire in the sharp relief only sharp shadows and pale light could give. This place represented a defining moment of his father's life, and he couldn't find a link to him here, at least, not one that worked.

He took a deep breath and stepped away from the castle. If he couldn't find his father, then he'd have to keep to his promise and try to find Morraine.

OUAT

Morraine stopped again, and her hand drew to the hilt of the sword. The Long Lost Boys drew together in a knot, and she felt their fear like the breeze in the air. She felt something else, too, something behind her. She stepped back, turned, and moved around the knot of boys toward the source of whatever she was feeling. The closer she got to it, the more the hair in the back of her neck stood at attention.

The smell, she realized suddenly. She recognized that smell. The sweat of a man in armor. The sweat of a rutting man in armor.

Figures Pan would put her own worst nightmare in a land full of nightmares, she thought dully. She swallowed her fear and drew the sword. "Show yourself, you fiend," she cried, but the presence shrank back, along with the smell. "Coward." The presence returned, this time from behind her, and she felt an arm around her waist and a hand over her mouth.

"Seer," a boy called. The presence paused. Morraine glanced at the boy and then back at her sword. She tossed it to him. He ran toward it but looked at her. She nodded to him against the presence holding her, and the boy picked up the weapon. He found the weapon lighter than when he had originally retrieved it from a bush near the clearing. "What do I aim at?"

Crap, she thought. They couldn't see it. She glanced down. She couldn't see it, either.

What was it waiting for? A reaction? she wondered. When this first happened, she struggled. Now, she was frozen. Was it waiting for her to react that way again? She kept herself still and calm, and she tried to remember what it took to get her the peace of mind she managed to achieve that first night. But that was three hundred years ago, and Rumpelstiltskin had told her that he killed Hordor. The relief she felt at that moment had brought her to her knees. That was the moment she realized Hordor no longer had power over her.

So why was she so afraid now?

The presence dissipated. "Keep the sword," she said to the boy. "You'll need it more than I do."

"What do we do?" the boy asked.

"What happened?" another asked.

"We keep going, and what happens was I realized the fears he creates for us here have no power over us. It's best you learn and understand that, too." She walked past them toward the edge of the shell. The boys moved as one behind her.


	8. Not Going Without a Fight

Not Going Without a Fight

Bae paused on a hill overlooking the castle and the surrounding area. The forest he remembered had apparently been reduced to prairie and farmland, but whatever villages may have dotted the landscape had been destroyed by the curse, leaving behind the land itself and only a small haven and a handful of survivors.

So, why were there survivors? he asked himself. Why was there a haven? Were there more havens? Could he find Morraine in one of these places?

For a moment, he wondered if she was in Storybrooke, but he immediately quashed the notion. A Long Lost Boy had told him that a girl calling herself Morraine had been taken to the Nowhereland and kept as a seer. The boy even answered all of Bae's follow-up questions correctly to the best of his ability, and she had even asked if the boy knew anyone called Baelfire. He was certain that if she was anywhere, she would be in the Nowhereland, and it would be a bubble protected from the curse by the sheer force of Peter Pan's will.

He closed his eyes and reached out with his mind, searching for the distinct sensation of one of the shells Peter had created to isolate his island paradise from the rest of the Enchanted Forest. Something prickled on the edge of his awareness, something just familiar enough. He turned toward it and walked down the slope of the hill.

OUAT

"Are...are you alright?" Bae asked Morraine one afternoon in the forest surrounding the village, after they had separated themselves from everyone else.

"Ogres are cruel beasts," she replied, "but they are simple. Man is cruel, as well, but man is also intelligent. Man is creative in its cruelty."

"Where did you learn that?"

"From one of the generals."

"It's, um, quite a..."

"A high-class statement? Yes, it is."

"Were they expecting you not to pick it up?"

"They don't need to know that, and now they won't have to."

"Those men that Papa..."

"Yes." Bae nodded, looked down, and chewed his lip. "What're you thinking?"

"I'm, um, I'm glad you're alright. Really."

"But that's not what's on your mind. You're thinking about your father, aren't you?"

Bae swallowed and nodded. "Please don't tell him."

"I won't, but I need you to know something." She turned to face him. "Your father, no matter what he does or what he is now, is a good man."

"Tell that to the men he keeps killing."

"I'm not asking you to approve of his methods. I'm asking you to remember the man he was and that he still loves you, very much. And now that he can, he'll do anything and everything for you."

"I don't want him to do everything for me," Bae hissed. "I want things to be the way they were."

"Tell him."

"I can't. There's nothing I can say to that beast." He took a deep breath. "He's a monster, and the thought of telling him something he won't like scares me to death. Do you know how little I've slept, wondering who was going to die the next day?"

She put her hands on his shoulders. "Look at me, Bae. If you need a constant, look at me. Look to me. I will never stray. I give my word." Bae nodded, and Morraine pulled him into a hug.

OUAT

Morraine felt the Long Lost Boys pause behind her, and she paused with them. Something was moving at the edge of her awareness. Great, she thought. What else do we have to face to get out of this hell hole? She rolled her eyes and took a step forward. "What now?" she snapped. "I will be faced this time. And you'd better have a form I can fight."

"Figures you'd figure it out," Pan said behind them. Morraine turned to face him. "You're such a killjoy, though. I wanted to see something awesome, some epic fight to the death. With you dying, of course."

The Long Lost Boys seemed caught between clustering even more tightly together and scattering with the four winds in search of hiding places. "At least you care to show your face," she said. "Not like the presence you conjured for me as my fear. Rather a weak effort, if I do say so myself."

"You think I'm weak?"

"In some respects, you are deficient."

"How am I deficient?"

"You're only a boy."

Peter conjured himself a sword. "You're just a girl."

"That's not the reason you're trying to kill me." He swung at her, and she ducked. The Long Lost Boys chose to disappear into the surrounding forest. "Do I need to fight you? Surely you can think of an opponent who can do better. After all, you've never really fought anyone to the death. Your opponents still live. Opponent, I should say, since you've only ever fought Captain Hook."

"What do you know of fighting? What fights have you ever been in?"

"A fight for my life against a monster of a man." She stepped toward him. "A monster you somehow knew to conjure and now, a monster who no longer has any power over me. But he's not the only one. I can see you trying your hardest to influence me, and you can't, because I feel nothing."

"So what?"

"So...you have no power over me. You have no power over any of us unless we let you. You can't force yourself on us. You can't force your power on us. We live, with or without you." A boy in front of her and to her side cheered. Peter wheeled on the boy and waved a hand. When nothing happened, he tried again. "I told you so."

He wheeled back on her and snapped, "Do girls never stop talking?" Morraine slapped him. "What was that for?"

"Do you ever stop talking?" She turned away from Peter Pan and said, "Come on, boys, if we're going to leave, we're leaving now." The boys rushed from their hiding places and formed their loose formation behind her.

"Like hell you are," Pan snarled, and he rushed forward.


	9. Escape

Escape

"No," the Long Lost Boy with the sword said, and he swung it at Pan with all his might. Pan blocked, knocking the boy to the ground. Morraine stepped between them and held her hand over the weapon. It flew up to her, and she leveled it at the boy's throat.

"I may go wherever I choose," she said. "That you felt the need to tie me to a tree is proof enough of that."

"You should've stayed there."

"I'm not a girl. I'm not some woman you can keep hostage, like a lord with his wife and daughters, sequestered in a castle with nothing but each other for company and entertainment. You ask what fighting I've seen? I've seen monsters, and I've fought them off every way I could. I've survived their attacks and advances, and you cannot think I'm just a girl. You can't think I'm a woman, either, the way I've been defiled."

"So what do you want me to think?"

"I am Morraine," she said, and she swung the sword. Pan blocked, but the blow almost tore his weapon out of his hand. "I'm getting the hell out of here, whether you like it or not."

Pan roared and swung at her again. She blocked and slipped the point of the weapon under his arm, cutting a thin line in his jerkin but not drawing any blood. "You can't kill me," Pan said. "Not like you'd want to, anyway." She slashed at him, cutting through his collarbone and a few ribs before bringing the weapon behind her. He stumbled back. The wound healed before her eyes, but he was still awed. "What are you?"

"I just told you." She checked the blade for blood, wiped off whatever there was, and sheathed it. "Goodbye." She turned and started for the edge. Pan's hand shot forward and wrapped around her wrist. She turned and shoved him into a tree, slamming his head against the trunk for good measure. He collapsed to the ground. "It's time," she called to the others, and they set off for the edge of the shell.

OUAT

The Nowehreland, Bae thought with apprehension as he stood on a ridge overlooking the new edge of the forest. He could feel the shell so close to him that it sent chills up his spine, but everything before him was perfectly normal. Just like in Neverland.

OUAT

Peter didn't know he was there, and that was just as well, as far as Bae was concerned. A Long Lost boy had told him someone in the Nowhereland knew him, and he knew in his heart of hearts that Morraine had come to look for him. Or she was taken. "I'll find you," he said. "I promise."

OUAT

"Time to keep my promise," Bae said. He descended from the ridge and then took a tentative step forward, and the environment shifted drastically. He suddenly found himself in a black forest under a sky of dark grey, almost black clouds. The air was cold and damp, but still. The hair on the back of his neck stood up. "Morraine?" he asked softly.

Someone unsheathed a sword and held the tip to his neck. He glanced to the side, where the person wielding the weapon undoubtedly stood. He turned gradually toward his opponent, and then his breath caught. The girl's eyes widened, then she brushed her hear back and sheathed the sword. "Baelfire?" she asked. "What're you doing here?"

"I made a promise."

"And you kept it all the way through the edge of the Nowhereland?" Bae nodded. Morraine narrowed her eyes. "Why?"

"Because I keep my promises."

She stepped forward. "How do I know you're not a nightmare vision?"

"Last time I checked, I didn't mean you any harm."

"Can you cross over?"

"Yes."

"He's one of us," she called over her shoulder. A gang of boys stepped out of various hiding places in the forest, but they kept their distance from him. "Now, you can get in," she said to Bae. "Time to see if we can get out."

Bae nodded to her and turned half a circle to the edge of the Nowhereland. He took two steps and found himself back in the Enchanted Forest. When he looked back at Morraine, he found he couldn't see her. However, she emerged a moment later, followed by the boys, all shielding their eyes from the sun. A price to pay for their subjection to the Nowhereland, a price Peter Pan imposed on them. "So far so good," he said.

"Yes," she replied, "but now we need to put as much distance as possible between us and the Nowhereland, especially Pan. He'll wake up any time now."

"He's unconscious?"

"That's the only way we could escape. Now, let's go." She set off across the prairie, followed by the Long Lost Boys. Bae trailed behind.


	10. Reconnected

Reconnected

Rumpelstiltskin studied the ball for a moment during a pause in his cleaning process. He only went into Bae's room to clean and maintain his things. The rest of the time it remained locked. Bae himself remained missing, and any connection with him remained lost or otherwise inaccessible. Except for the first time, when he heard his boy call him Papa.

Papa. How he missed hearing that from his son.

Baelfire, he thought, fighting the tears. But they came unbidden, along with the rest of his thoughts. I want to hold you, and tell you everything's alright and the monster's gone. I want everything to be okay again.

He took a deep breath and wiped his cheeks dry. He couldn't leave, and even if he could, he wanted to be where his boy could find him.

OUAT

Morraine stopped the group on top of another ridge. Bae stepped up to her and stared. Stretching from the ground to some point in the sky that neither of them could see was a great beanstalk. Guarding the base were two women, one in armor and another in strange clothing. "I recognize those two," he said. "From the haven."

"Do you?" Morraine asked. "Do you think they can help us?"

"Well, that depends. They'd just as soon kill us as help us get to the other side, the world the curse created. They might not even want to, or know how."

"If they do?"

"I don't want to risk that just yet, personally. I want this to go right."

"Personal matter, I take it."

"I think I might be able to find my father again."

"Oh. Good luck."

"Thanks."

"I suppose what we do now depends on what makes you think we can find Rumpelstiltskin again."

"I felt him, and I think I heard him, too."

"How?"

"It was a connection, in the air. It was magic."

"It is a magic that links you to your father again, and I know for a fact he desperately wishes to see and hear from you. He made preparations for me to be able to protect and reach you in case I'm the one to find you."

"Was that the deal you made with him, to be able to see me so long as you were able to protect me?" Morraine nodded. "And what if I were to sufficiently prove that I could take care of myself?"

"He's your father, Bae. He'll still try to protect you."

"How many others have to die before he sees he needs to stop?"

"He might if you step between him and one he sees as threatening you. He might if he injures you."

"I might die by then, especially out here."

"Don't you have hope?"

"Yes, but I'm practical."

Morraine nodded. "A good thing to be, especially in these times. In this place."

"So you can tell. You can feel the danger in the air and on the land."

"Yes." Morraine exhaled. "Well, you don't trust the beanstalk, and I don't trust the rest of this world, so let's camp somewhere. Maybe if we relax, you might be able to reach your father again."

"I hope so." Together, they walked toward the forest. They settled in next to a tree in a spot that gave them a good view of the beanstalk without being seen. She leaned into him, and he didn't push her away.

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin heard it again, in his sleep. "Papa?" Bae asked. Maybe he was just as unsure, or maybe Rumpelstiltskin was dreaming. But he felt the magic, so perhaps this was real.

"Bae?" he replied. "Bae, I'm right here. I know I don't seem like it, and I'm really a world away, but I am here."

"How is this possible? How are we doing this?"

"I'm not entirely sure, Bae."

"Papa, some people here are trying to find a way to Storybrooke."

"Why are you not with them? Or are you with them?"

"I'm not. I don't know what they want, and if it's something I don't want to be involved with, I don't want to get all caught up in it, you know?"

"I know."

"Papa...you're not going to let me go this time, are you?"

"Of course not, Bae."

"Do you...do you think this connection we somehow figured out will help us find each other again?"

"I hope so." Rumpelstiltskin swallowed. "I just wanna see you again, Bae. I want you to know that everything's going to be okay."

"I know you cast the curse."

"I did."

"Why?"

"I thought you came here, to a land without magic, like the fairy said. Surely she wouldn't lie to you, would she?"

"Promise me you won't kill anyone."

"Bae..."

"Just promise me that. That's all I ask. Don't kill anyone."

Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "I won't, Bae. You have my word."

"I'll hold you to that."

"I know you will."

"She lied to me, but I haven't figured out why yet. Unless she wanted you to destroy the Enchanted Forest, but that was her home, just as it was ours, so why would she want that?"

"That's...that's a good question. I don't know the answer to that one."

"I don't think about it too much. I don't think much about anything connected to Neverland."

"I understand."

"Papa," Bae said after a moment, "I don't know how this connection works, not very well, but I'm glad you're here to share it with me."

"Me, too, Bae. I missed you so, so much, and I'm...I'm so sorry."

"You're here now, and somehow, we'll fix this. I know it."

Rumpelstiltskin smiled.


	11. Closer

Closer

Morraine's eyes fluttered open, and she looked to the east and smiled. The horizon was painted red, fading into the blue velvet that the stars had so beautifully graced. She hadn't seen a sunrise in a long time, and she recalled what she said about a first sunrise.

Her first sunrise in three centuries.

She looked to her shoulder, where Bae rested his head. His breathing was slow and even, and his face was perfectly relaxed. He looked as if his mother hadn't left him and his father hadn't abandoned him, as if his entire world were perfectly normal and there was nothing to trouble him. She lay her head on top of his.

OUAT

Morraine hadn't in straight terms told Bae what had happened to her on the line, but he understood in some manner what she had said. His easy way with her returned, despite the circumstances, and she even noticed that they had grown closer.

Then he disappeared one night, and only his father returned. It was now her turn to know instantly, by Rumpelstiltskin's expression and bearing, that something was wrong. She spent the first part of the night weeping in her bed, and then she made a silent vow: to see or hear one more word as to the fate of Baelfire.

OUAT

Bae didn't remember a lot of his three centuries in Neverland. Everything blurred together after a while, save his arrival, his designation as Weirdo, his vow to Morraine spoken to the shell surrounding the Nowhereland, and the day Peter decided to have him killed.

Bae didn't remember the reason, though he assumed it was one of two: he was either deciding to grow up or he hadn't pleased Peter in some way. He remembered everything more clearly than a forest spring when Peter said, "Kill him," and the natives emerged from their hiding places around Hangman's Tree. The first round of arrows sent Bae running.

First, he was aimless. That was how he spent much of the day, really. His only thought was to lose them. But it wasn't just the natives Peter had set on him: mermaids, fairies, and even some local birds had it in for him that day.

That was how he determined that he needed to get off that island.

OUAT

Bae stirred and looked up, and his breath caught. The old fire burned in Morraine's eyes, kindled by delight. He followed her gaze to the eastern horizon and smiled. The fire that was the sun burned through the veil between night and day, giving a fresh light to everything around them.

He adjusted his position and looked back at her. "Beautiful," he whispered. She grinned and kissed him. He moved his hand over hers, and she pulled back. "Beautiful," he said again.

"Handsome," she replied. "And brave, and good."

"You're a lot braver than I am, to have found the strength to survive in the Nowhereland."

"It's easy when you're tied to a tree."

"It's also very difficult, because you can't defend yourself as easily against the nightmare creatures when you're forced to stay stationary. Peter could've set them on you at any time, knowing that you were defenseless."

"He needed me. He believed I could see the future."

"And it takes a lot to maintain a lie like that."

"You say enough crap, some of it comes true. All I had to do was keep talking about nonsensical things." Bae laughed, and Morraine kissed him again. "I missed hearing you laugh. It's been too long."

"Yeah, it has." Morraine leaned against Bae and exhaled slowly. "I talked to Rumpelstiltskin last night. I think we found the connection again."

"That's good. It means we have a viable option, and you can talk to your father again."

"I do miss him."

"Like I said, it'll work out out." Bae nodded.

OUAT

A burst of magic woke Bae from a doze, and he shot to his feet. Morraine stood shortly thereafter. "What is it?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied. "Maybe they do."

"Should we ask?"

"We should at least follow. Look, they're setting out now."

"Are you sure?"

"I think so. I have a good feeling."

The two of them stood at the edge of the woods and watched the four women-Bae noticed his miscount almost immediately-and then they started to track the group.

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin walked into the library and set the book on the desk. Bracing himself with one hand, he looked around. "Did you find him?" Belle asked, appearing from behind a shelf.

"If by that you mean, do I know where he is?" he replied. "Then the answer is yes. But I don't know how to get to him."

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I think there's a way." He took a step toward her and leaned on his cane. "I think the key is in the communication."

"Communication?"

"I can communicate with my son from across the veil." The tears started to come again. "I can talk to my boy."

"That's...that's fantastic. You can tell him everything."

"And I so badly want to. I started, last night, and he's figured certain things out."

"Is he alright?"

"He sounded like it."

She continued to approach him, and her smile broadened. "This is...this is...amazing."

Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "Could you help me? With another book?"

"Of course. What're you looking for?"

"Something on communication between realms, if that book is in this realm."

"Books on general magic are there," she pointed to the back of the library, "and books on inter-dimensional magic are there." She pointed to the back left corner. "And please, be careful."

"I have only one purpose: to find my son. I will use this magic for nothing else." Belle nodded. "Thank you." He walked in the direction Belle had indicated.


	12. Pan

Pan

As Bae and Morraine followed, they learned of a rather dangerous method of communication between worlds that involved victims of a sleeping curse and a room with no doors that burned perpetually. There were a few people involved in this communication: Snow White, the Princess Aurora, a boy named Henry, and a prince called Charming or David, depending on who was speaking.

While they camped one night, Bae poked the fire and said, "There's another way, but this one seems to be working for them. It's getting them what they need, it sounds like."

"But there are competitors, I've heard," Morraine replied. "Cora and the good captain."

"Oh, the captain. He's just as lost as us, but sworn to vengeance against Rumpelstiltskin."

"I'd love to see how you handle that."

"One thing's for sure: I won't use magic. I'm a perfectly good shot and completely self-sufficient. I don't need it." Morraine smiled. "It's true."

"I know it is."

He studied the fire for a moment and said, unprompted, "Pan will be looking for us."

"He has no power anymore."

"He thinks he can gain it again. He's deluded himself into thinking that he and whatever he creates and influences can last forever."

"He will start to age."

"I'd love to see how he takes that."

Morraine reached forward, and they were handfast over the flames. "Whatever it is," she said, "however he handles it, whatever he does to us, we'll be together." He smiled. "I love you."

"I love you, too." They scooted around the fire so that they sat next to each other, and they kissed. When they pulled apart, they leaned into each other, and he wrapped an arm around her back. "This is nice," he whispered.

"Yes, it is."

"It's a shame nothing lasts forever."

"Then it sounds like we need to work on finding more moments like this."

"Yes, we do." Her hand brushed his thigh, and he blushed and bowed his head. "I, um..."

"It's okay. I know you won't hurt me."

"I try not to. I worry about you sometimes."

"Thank you for that."

"Of course." Her hand rested on his knee, and he lay his free hand over hers. He smiled. This was perfect.

Something prickled at the edge of Bae's notice, and he straightened and tensed. Morraine looked first at him and then at the woods behind them. Two options instantly popped into Bae's mind as he reached for his bow and arrows. This must be bad, Morraine thought, going for the sword.

Bae nocked an arrow and turned to the source of the sensation, which was growing stronger. He had the impression that its cause was coming closer to him. They froze, and it seemed to Bae that the presence had also frozen. Was it watching them, waiting for their next move, or for them to attack it? Was it waiting for them to drop their guard so it could attack? Or, had it already attacked and was using their paranoia against them for their destruction? Bae forced himself to stop thinking like this, lest he work himself into a panic.

He and Morraine stood, still armed and ready, but they made no other move. The heat of the fire was at their back, and the presence almost burned at their front, though the fire illuminated nothing. Perhaps it was conjured to trick us, Bae thought. "Alright," he said, relaxing his hold on the bow and arrow. "I know you're there. I can feel it. I can feel you. I can feel your every move, and don't think I'm not watching and waiting for you." The presence seemed to dare him, but Bae dared not change his position or tighten his hold on his weapon. Morraine took her cue from him.

A twig snapped. "So you have substance," Bae said. Morraine stepped in front of him, and her grip on the hilt of the sword tightened. If it had substance, it was a threat. It moved closer to them, and as soon as Bae noticed the shadow in the trees, he drew the arrow and anchored. The shadow moved, and Bae adjusted his aim. Morraine drew the sword and stood ready.

"I think it's toying with us," she said. "It's waiting for us to do something foolish because of our paranoia."

"So is it wise to not give it the chance, or do we wait for it to get impatient?" he asked in reply.

"I'm a boy," the figure said.

"Pan," Bae whispered, letting the arrow fly. Pan caught the arrow and emerged from the shadows. The couple recognized something different about him almost immediately. "How old are you now? Ten? I thought you were going to be nine forever. That's how it was supposed to work, right?"

"Can it."

"Why? Can't handle it? We all know how dead set you are against growing up, how you're convinced that you never will, but all children grow up. Even you, eventually. I'm sure of it."

"What do you know?"

"Actually a good deal, knowledge that only comes from a certain set of life experiences which I doubt you've had." Peter scoffed and tossed the arrow aside. Bae made note of where the arrow landed. The boy approached them, and for some reason it struck both Bae and Morraine how comical it was that a boy could strike such fear in them. Bae's father was one thing, being both a full-grown man and twisted by magic into something beyond description, but this was just a boy. It was too strange to take too seriously.

"You think this is funny. Cute."

"It is funny, though cute is debatable."

"Are you two going to banter all night?" Morraine asked, eyeing both parties with some degree of annoyance. "Because I'm getting tired, and the fact that you're here gives me the very strong desire to pick a bone." She held the sword level with Pan's heart.

"Are you threatening me?"

"Actually, yes, and you're interrupting a perfect night with my boyfriend."

"You have a boyfriend?"

"Don't be so surprised. We all grow up, just like he said. Or were you not paying attention?"

Peter Pan conjured himself a sword and lunged for Morraine. Bae drew another arrow and, in the midst of Pan's fight with Morraine, waited for him to turn just right, knowing he wouldn't catch it. When he loosed, the arrow struck him in the neck, near the base of his skull. Pan clapped his hand on the arrow and tore it out of his flesh before turning on Bae and taking a swing at him. Bae ducked and fired another shot, which landed in his chest, but nowhere fatal. Bae drew another arrow and stared levelly down the shaft. "Next time I won't miss," he said coldly. Pan wrenched this arrow from his body and threw it to the ground.

"This is getting ridiculous," Morraine snapped. "It should be obvious by now that this is getting us nowhere. What are you doing here, besides getting revenge on us? Or is that all you're doing?"

"That's about it," Pan said simply and with a brusque nod.

"Alright," Bae said, lowering his weapon. "What do you say to an arrangement where no one has to die?"

"Why?"

"Because the way it looks right now, none of us want to," Morraine said.

"Who's side are you on?"

"His." She tilted her head in Bae's direction. Pan scoffed and smirked, and he turned his attention to Bae.

Bae kept his gaze level. Peter Pan no longer intimidated him. In fact, he found it hard to imagine how he could have spent three hundred years in such a state, now that he had been free for twenty-nine years. "She has a point," he said evenly. "And here's another: I only kill threats, to myself, her, or anyone else."

"So why are you about to shoot me?" Peter asked. Something almost imperceptible had changed in the boy that wasn't lost on Bae.

"We were fighting just a little while ago, as I recall, and you are very unpredictable. Unless you can prove otherwise, I'll consider you a threat. Fair enough?" Peter chewed his lip, looked to the side, and then nodded. Why was he now more rational? Were the effects of his self-made world wearing off? "Now, we are willing to negotiate so that no one needs to die, as my friend has just said. Is this suitable?"

"How do I know you're not gonna go back on me?" Pan snapped. There was something the Lost Boy Bae could appreciate.

"I'd ask you the same question, but going back on a deal isn't something I do. What I'd like to know is if I can say the same about you."

Pan licked his lip and studied Bae. "You gonna run again when you're supposed to die?"

"I wasn't supposed to die. That was an arbitrary decision that you made and probably would've regretted a week later."

"What were you doing around the Nowhereland?"

"Making a promise which I did later keep. Can I say the same about you?"

Pan smirked, though Bae noticed the flash of something else entirely in his eyes. "Look," he said. "Nobody wants to die, okay, fine. But somebody has to."

"The Long Lost Boys?" Bae asked. "Us?"

"To die would be an awfully great adventure."

"You have to be the only person I've ever met that thinks that," Morraine said. "I have serious concerns about your mental health."

"I have concerns about yours, if you're not going to fight with us."

She stepped closer, raising the sword to his throat. Pan stepped back and held his hands up in the universal gesture of surrender. "Don't tell me I'm crazy because I won't fight," she hissed. "I've seen war, and I've seen cruelty. I've seen crazy, and crazy I am not. I won't stand for you calling me something that isn't true. Do I make myself perfectly clear?" She moved the sword closer to his neck, eliciting a nod. "Good." But she refused to lower her weapon.

"I can do this all night," Pan said.

"I'm sure you can," Bae replied, "but we can't, so either we negotiate something now or we wait until all parties are weary for want of sleep. Does that sound fun?"

"Maybe."

"Interesting sense of humor," Morraine said. "You're the only one that exhibits that, as well. Are you human?"

"Why's she askin' that?"

"I'd ask the same thing, but for different reasons," Bae said, "particularly your magical ability."

"Why do you wanna know about that?"

"If you can create worlds, can you traverse them?"

Pan narrowed his eyes. "Where's this going?"

"That's my business, and I'll reveal what I choose when it's necessary, if it's necessary."

"So why should I listen to you?"

"I'm not asking for anything, except that I'm curious about your magical ability and where it comes from."

"What do you want it for?"

"You can create worlds, so can you traverse them?"

Pan blinked and knit his brow. This was getting amazingly confusing, and it was doing so very quickly. "What the hell do you want?"

Bae sighed. "I need to go somewhere."


	13. Negotiation

Negotiation

"Why should I help you?" Pan asked. "What're you gonna do for me?"

"Let you live," Bae replied.

"Why?"

"Well, if you're dead, you can't recreate Neverland, now, can you?" Bae recognized instantly the kind of gamble he was making, but he also recognized the circumstances under which he was forced to make it.

"What if I don't want to play that game anymore?"

"If you die, then what other games can you play? You'll have had your 'great adventure,' so what will you do after that? I understand that you don't fear death, and that's actually good for your well-being, but surely you want to have other adventures between now and when you do actually die." Now Bae could tell he spoke to something, because he could see Pan's eyes become less wild, more like those he'd seen in other Lost Boys: filled with longing. "Oh, I see."

"See what?" Pan was back.

"I see that that didn't get us much anywhere." He turned to Morraine and asked, "Any ideas?"

Morraine shrugged. "He seems pretty stubborn to me."

Bae nodded and then looked at Pan. "If you want an adventure before you die, there is a world without magic we can go to. Have you experienced that before?" Pan blinked, and Bae could see the Lost Boy behind Peter's facade once more. "Do you want to? I'm sure what I have in mind can give you that chance."

"An adventure? You wanna go on an adventure?"

"This one, yes."

"Why?"

"I just want to go."

"You never wanna go. That's why you're Weirdo."

"I'm Weirdo because I admit to wanting my family back, and we both have yet to meet another Lost Boy exactly that way."

"You also don't wanna go on adventures with us, or eat the food."

"I don't trust figments of my imagination."

"As fascinating as this is," Morraine said, "we have a negotiation to iron out. You get your adventure," she told Pan, "and we get passage to the land without magic. Simple enough?"

"Yeah," Pan replied.

"Do you agree to it?"

The boy paused. Both could see in his eyes that he was struggling with himself. Finally Peter pushed through, and he said, "I'm not very good with travel, but I can try."

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin rummaged through book after book, learned nothing, and leaned back in his chair. He was no closer to Bae than when he started searching for something to use that would utilize the connection they had established. Unless Bae had figured something out, they were both stuck on opposite sides of the veil, separated but able to communicate.

Fate could be so, so cruel.


	14. The Journey Renewed

The Journey Renewed

Bae, Peter, and Morraine crept through the forest, the first with his bow ready and the last with her hand on the hilt of the sword. Peter was leading, explaining every now and again various aspects of interdimensional travel that he happened to know. Bae's and Morraine's eyes scanned their surroundings. "You two are pretty paranoid. You know that, right?" Peter asked over his shoulder.

"With good reason," Bae replied. "I've heard things since I left."

"What kind of things?"

"Ogres, trolls, werewolves, giant squids. Ever since the curse hit, this has been a treacherous place."

"So why did certain parts survive?"

"Magical shells," Morraine said. "That's the most common way to protect something, at least. Pan would know."

"I know all that, but who used it?"

"No idea," they said at the same time.

"Not even a sliver?"

"What do you know?" Bae asked.

"I used to leave Neverland sometimes. I saw things, strange things. A woman was here, with a staff."

"What sort of staff?"

"Long, wooden, with a knob on top." Bae nodded. That helped. "She stuck it in the ground and cast a spell on this part of the land, saving it from the curse. I haven't seen her since."

"Because she was locked up in the haven, and then she escaped to wreak havoc and do whatever else she does in her spare time."

"You met her?"

"Not the most pleasant company."

Peter stopped them in an expansive clearing exquisitely lit by angled sunlight and graced by a few boulders and a brook trickling slowly through it. "This is where we'll cross," he said. "Our best chances are when someone else crosses, too, but we don't need it, necessarily." Bae turned his face toward the east and started to move. Morraine grabbed him by the shirtsleeve and restrained him. "What does he feel?" Peter asked, with sudden, strange interest. Bae hardly heard him.

Finally he gasped and panted, and he looked at Peter. "If our best chances are to cross with someone else, I think now's our time." Peter nodded and walked toward the center of the clearing. Bae and Morraine followed.

Peter closed his eyes and breathed deeply. His mind would have to be perfectly clear if this was going to work. Once certain that he achieved this, he began to chant. Bae became aware of the buzz of magic at work. Morraine stared in awe as the brook began to glow light blue and its waters worked their way over to where the three of them stood. Water lapped at their feet, and a vortex began to form where they stood. Bae laced his fingers through Morraine's, and they clung tightly to each other.

Peter stopped chanting and turned to face them. "Take my hand," he said. They obeyed. "Now, don't let go." Bae suppressed a wry smile.

They fell through the vortex, and Bae was immediately shaken by the impression that something was about to go very, very wrong.

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin sat up and clutched the armrests until his knuckles turned white. His connection with Bae was starting to fade. "Bae," he whispered. "Baelfire? Bae, are you there?"

"Papa?" Bae replied. "What's happening?"

"Bae, stay calm. Everything's going to be alright. I promise."

"Tell that to..."

"Baelfire?" Rumpelstiltskin stood, and he found his voice becoming increasingly panicked. "Bae?" There was something final about this disconnection. He could tell.

He sank to his knees and bowed his head, and then he looked up and started to stand again. He had one hope left: the magical Emma Swan.

OUAT

Bae was given one last moment to speak to his father but couldn't finish what he needed to say, so overwhelmed was he by the sense of pure, unadulterated evil. It made him want to choke on his own vomit, if he was able to vomit. The vortex and the intruding magic suppressed everything in him, devoting all of his energy, against his will, to his ability to feel magic. He thought he heard Peter screaming at him to not let go, and it took everything he had to try to obey. His grip on Morraine's hand tightened. Of that he was sure. But she was being taken away from him.

He was going to be isolated, he realized suddenly. The goal of the evil was to isolate everyone in that vortex from each other. But then he felt something else, something much more benevolent. Good magic? he asked himself. Was it trying to save them, keep them together so they could complete their journey? Was it completely unrelated and something he happened to feel in transit? Either way, he squeezed Peter's and Morraine's hands even tighter. "Don't let Peter go," he said. Whatever Bae's experience with Peter Pan, the intruder that was overwhelming his mind was much, much worse.

A sound like thunder cracked through the vortex, and as a result, Bae lost consciousness. Peter and Morraine gripped his wrists, but their hands were exhausted. Trying to keep him with them in this state seemed impossible, but Morraine knew she had to try, even if Peter was more ambivalent. Peter lost his grip on Bae's hand, and Morraine looked at him, suddenly aware she was faced with a choice, and, admittedly, an easy one. She released Peter's hand and pulled Bae close to her. They would fall together through this botched attempt to reunite father and son, and they would arrive at their destination in each other's arms.

OUAT

John stared at the tree this charlatan, in his mind, was standing before, arms outstretched and a wooden stick in his left hand. "How do you know this will work?" he asked, folding his arms and tilting his head to one side. The more this charade went on, the more certain he was that he was being bribed, and the angrier he was with the man making this ridiculous, half-hearted attempt at finding something to remove their biggest threat. The man hadn't answered his question, adding to his suspicions.

Then the tree split open, glowing very light blue. The man turned away and shielded his face. Something flew out of the hole and tumbled in the grass before resting next to a boulder A man walked over to the bundle and turned it over, and then he said to John, "It's just a boy."

"That's our best hope?" John asked gruffly. "Our fate lies in the hands of a boy?"

The robed man turned to John, lowered his hood to reveal a rectangular face with patches of white hair barely hanging on to his head, and said, "Yes, it does."


	15. Unexpected Results

Unexpected Results

Bae groaned and forced his eyes open. When they focused, he realized he was surrounded by people he didn't know from a hole in the wall. "Where am I?" he slurred.

"Why, you're in Sherwood Forest, laddie," the man to his right replied. He reminded Bae of a giant.

"Is it a land without magic?"

"I'm afraid not, boy. Even the last untouched part of Nottinghamshire still feels it."

"Excuse me?"

"You're in England," another man, this one on his other side, said, "in the Year of Grace Eleven Forty-Five."

"The Year of Disgrace is more like it," the first man shot back.

"Where's...where's Morraine?" Bae asked.

"Who?"

"The girl who fell through the portal with me. Where is she?"

"If she came with you, and she's not here, then I hate to say it, but she's with the sheriff." Bae tried to sit up, eyes wide, but the man pressed a hand to his chest and gently pushed him back down. "You need to rest, boy. I don't know what happened to you, but you were under for three days."

"What?"

"We thought we'd have to send for a doctor," said the man on his left, "and you know how dangerous that can be."

"Actually, no, I don't."

"The doctors are paid murderers," explained the giant-like one. He stood over Bae now. "And the worst part is they make you do what they say."

"How?"

"He gave them that power. So long as they serve him, they keep it." Finally, a concept Bae understood.

The giant-like man walked away, and Bae sat up gingerly and looked to his other companion. "Does anyone know about this?"

"Nottinghamshire is as isolated as it gets. No news comes in, no news gets out, and no news is hardly ever good news," the man said.

"Who controls this place?"

"The sheriff, with his army of devils."

"The...the sheriff who has Morraine."

"She must be quite the lady. If that's so, you may never see her again."

"Why not?"

"The sheriff's conquests are his prisoners." Bae creased his brow. "Sorry, lad, but a rescue is nigh impossible."

"Haven't you tried? Surely you had to have gone to rescue someone, or you wouldn't know that."

The man's face darkened, and he simply said, "Yes, we tried."

"I take it you didn't succeed, then." The man shook his head. Bae nodded and asked, "Who are you?"

"Alan. What do they call you?"

Bae recognized that using his real name would be too dangerous, so he said simply, "I'm not sure yet."

Alan nodded in concession and asked, "Where are you from?"

"Not here."

"Which realm? The talk is you fell through a portal from another world."

"Do you believe in magic?"

"I suppose I must now."

"The Enchanted Forest."

"Sounds like an alright place."

"Not anymore. It was ravaged by a curse. Only a few of us remain, and if not for what was saved, there would be no Enchanted Forest left." Alan whistled. "Actually, it's not much to be impressed with, unless you've never seen an ogre or troll before. Those are some impressive beasts."

"I'm sure, though I'm not familiar with anything that could be described as such."

Bae nodded. "I understand."

Alan stood and offered Bae his hand, which the latter used to help pull himself up. "Come," he said. "You should probably eat something." Bae nodded and followed Alan into the forest.

OUAT

Peter blinked and pushed himself up onto his elbows. Gradually, he managed to open both of his eyes, and he looked up and around. Five strange people were walking away from a well, and he recognized two from the other side. So far as he knew, he was the only one out of himself and the two Long Lost Children who successfully completed the crossing. Gradually, he stood and took in the unfamiliar forest in which he found himself. Even the magic here felt different. He didn't even recognize its base. This would be tough to get used to and even more tough to figure out how to use to find the lost ones.

One of the strange people walked toward him. "Who are you?" he asked. Peter felt his signature and recognized the Dark One.

"I'm from the other side," he whispered.

"You're not Bae."

"Something happened, something evil."

"Evil?"

"Worse than anything from the Enchanted Forest. It must've pulled them away, the people I tried to cross with. They're not here."

"Well, I can see that. What I can't see is how you are here."

"He passed out and she let me go, probably to go with him wherever he disappeared to."

"Bae? I mean, Weirdo?"

"Yeah, and the girl, the Seer."

Morraine, Rumpelstiltskin thought. Well, this was certainly an interesting turn of events. "So do you know where they are now?" Peter shook his head. "Where in the vortex did the Seer release your hand?"

"Somewhere near the middle. They could be anywhere." Rumpelstiltskin nodded, filed the boy's face away for future reference, and bid farewell. Peter watched him leave, somehow overcome with relief.


	16. Learning Curve

Learning Curve

Rumpelstiltskin decided to wait for a little while until things with the Charming family settled down before approaching Emma in her mother's home. He was somewhat surprised when she answered his knock, but he said easily, "Hello, Miss Swan."

"What...are you doing here?" Emma asked.

"I'd just like to talk for a while."

"That doesn't mean anything good."

"If you recall, you owe me a favor." Rumpelstiltskin walked into the room and turned to face her again.

"What sort of favor?"

"I want you to find someone for me."

"Who?"

"My son."

She blinked. "Wait a minute. Since when have you had a son?"

"Since before I became the Dark One. I just recently reconnected with him, but I also just lost him."

"Reconnected how?"

"Through magic."

Emma sighed and stepped back, holding her hands up and closing her eyes. "You're telling me there's some other magical link between the two lands that we could've used?"

"Well, that depends on the connections you have to the other side. My son and I were...quite close before we were parted."

Emma looked at him from behind her eyelashes. "If you were reconnected, then what do you need me for?"

"The connection has recently been severed."

"So he's somewhere without magic. Maybe he's closer than you think."

"Exactly. We can't leave Storybrooke without losing our memories."

"What?"

"Talk to Sleepy if you wish, since he went through the ordeal, but I'm afraid you'll find him as he was before the breaking of the curse. Now, you, on the other hand, are free to come and go as you please, having escaped the curse in the first place. That's why I need you to go out, find my son, and return him to me." Emma eyed Rumpelstiltskin, sensing something just beneath the surface that the Dark One wasn't willing to talk about. "Isn't finding people what you do?"

"Yeah. I'm...I'm just trying to process everything." Rumpelstiltskin nodded. "But you're still sure he can be found?"

"Yes, yes I am. After all, he has to be somewhere, even if he's dropped off the face of the earth."

"Where do I even begin to look for this kid, then?"

"A land without magic."

"Here." Rumpelstiltskin nodded.

OUAT

"How well can you shoot, lad?" one of the men asked after the wine started flowing and the food was prepared and served.

"Me?" Bae asked, gesturing to himself.

"I don't see any other lad in these parts."

"Alright." Bae grabbed his bow and an arrow from his quiver, which luckily hadn't been damaged in the fall, and he shot the man's hat right off his head.

After a tense silence, the man said, "Lucky shot." In response, Bae nocked another arrow and aimed at a bird perched in a branch above them. He fired, and the bird didn't have a chance. It fell out of its perch and landed stiffly in the sod. Bae walked over and retrieved both of his arrows. He cleaned off the one from the bird before returning it to his quiver.

He turned to face his challenger. "Anything else you'd like me to shoot at?"

"Now, Will, that's enough madness," the giant-like man said. "Give the lad a little peace before he faces Nottingham's men."

"When will that be?" Bae asked, but no one needed to answer him. A dark shadow passed over his awareness, and he blanched, eyes wide.

"Too soon. Scatter and man the defenses." The men got to their feet and fled the clearing, and the giant-like one approached Bae. "Lad, are you alright?" Bae hardly heard him. His perception was already occupied with visions of men in black on equally black horses. The one in the lead was the most disturbing of all and made him feel the sickest. Between scenes, he saw that the lead horseman was also half-man, half cloud of pitch.

Bae stumbled and braced himself against a tree. His vision spun, but one detail overshadowed all: black tendrils were creeping across the forest floor. He blinked and looked up at the man. "What's your name?" he asked. "What are you called?"

"John," the man replied. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm afraid I'm going to die without knowing who was so kind to me in my last days."

"We are the Merry Men of the Greenwood Tree and Sherwood Forest." Bae nodded. "Lad, you look very ill."

"I can...I can feel it, and see it."

"Clear your head, boy, because we're going to need all hands to fight."

"Arrows can't stay this creature."

"We've got to try something."

"But if you die in the fight, who's left to carry the torch?"

"We've been fighting the sheriff for years with what we have. Believe me, lad, it can be done."

"Alan told me of a botched rescue mission."

"This isn't rescue. This is defense. Now, stay close and pay attention." John walked out of the clearing, and Bae turned and reluctantly followed.


	17. Robin Hood

Robin Hood

Bae stepped over a twig and stopped. The sickening presence was now closer to him than ever. He tried, not for the first time, to figure out how this world could have worse magic than the one he just left, the one that was full of magic and freely accepted it. He found he could readily accept Alan's explanation: this was a devil with his army of evil. "C'mon, lad," John said over his shoulder. Bae forced himself to follow.

Archers lined the edge of the forest, facing roughly half a dozen horsemen and trying to halt their advance with their limited supply of arrows. The lead horseman, the same middle-aged, black-clad man from Bae's vision, waved his hand over the land, sending black clouds racing toward the archers.

Bae's heart skipped a beat. "No," he said quickly, approaching. The clouds stopped suddenly and swirled into themselves. Bae took another step forward. The clouds shrunk back. The horseman dismounted and approached him, and Bae found himself grateful the archers had made themselves scarce under everything else racing through his mind and body.

The man drew a sword and held the tip to the boy's throat. "What did you say, boy?" he asked.

"I said, no," Bae replied, keeping his eye and voice even.

The man touched the tip to Bae's chin. Bae winced and gasped through his nose. "You dare defy me?"

"Who am I defying? I'm afraid I'm new to the area."

"How is that possible? Everything in Nottingham is under my strict watch. You might say I've thrown away the key to the door, if you so choose."

"There are ways around ways."

"What are you?"

"I'm working on that part."

The man stepped forward, the flat of his blade sliding along Bae's neck and making the latter's flesh crawl. The man was inches from Bae's nose when he said, "You asked who I was. I'm the sheriff around here, the only one this god-forsaken town has."

"I'll believe god-forsaken."

"Who are you?"

"Why should I tell you? I have the very strong suspicion you'll use it against me."

The sheriff eyed Bae for a moment. "You are familiar with magic."

"You do with that knowledge what you choose."

"It could be advantageous."

"Or I could just as easily destroy you with it."

"If you know what you're doing."

"I'm not. That makes me dangerous."

"Dangerous? You think you are dangerous? Since when?"

Bae clenched his fists. This was getting more and more difficult by the second, even though he somehow managed to keep the sheriff's influence from making him sick. "Since now," he said, allowing everything in him to reject the sheriff. The man flew backward into a tree, and his eyes widened. Bae squared his shoulders and stared the man down. "As I said, I don't know what I'm doing. Therefore my control is somewhat lacking. Do you want to accidentally die?"

The sheriff seemed to relax. "I can't tell you how many times you and your fellow freaks have tried to kill me." Gods, he sounded like Peter Pan, Bae thought. "The one that could've succeeded is dead. What makes you think you're so special?"

"I'd ask you the same question."

"I didn't know you had the gall."

"That's what a group of soldiers thought of my father. They all had their throats slashed or their necks broken."

"Where was this? Why haven't I heard about it?"

"As I said, there are ways around ways."

"What ways around ways do you know, boy?"

"I'm not the person to ask. You should try to find the sorcerer who pulled me here, or a fairy, perhaps, will be so kind as to talk to you." The sheriff approached Bae, and the latter forced him back again. Whatever he was doing, it was getting easier and easier with each time he was forced to do it. Bae turned to the tree to find John pressed against it. "What are you staring at?"

"You...no one but..."

"But who?"

"It's just that we don't get a lot of sensitives around these parts, and the ones we do get instantly become the sheriff's top targets."

"Who came before me? Who were you talking about just now?"

John sighed and straightened, and he took a few steps toward Bae. "Lad, the only other sensitive to find his way into Nottinghamshire was Robin Hood, one of the greatest Merry Men the forest has ever known."

"What...what happened?"

"He was taken by the sheriff, and any attempt to rescue him led to extreme casualties. We simply couldn't do it, not that we don't want to, you understand. I hope you understand."

"I do." Bae fell into step beside John. "Tell me more about this Robin Hood."


	18. Advice

Advice

Robin Hood drew an arrow and waited in silence, watching the deer lazily graze on what it could find on the forest floor. He fired, and the arrow struck the deer in the side. The deer stumbled and then fell, and he walked over and plucked the arrow from the carcass's side, cleaning it on the grass. Arrangements for the body would have to be made; it was a sizable beast, by any account. He whistled three times, and Will Scarlet emerged from the forest. In spite of his color choice, he had managed to stay well-hidden. Together, they hauled the deer back to the Greenwood Tree.

"See anything unusual?" John asked when they returned.

"Not a thing," Robin replied.

"Me, neither," Will added.

"If you ask me, the sheriff's cowardice is a crying shame."

"He's not a coward, he's a plotter," John said. "You can't really tell me you want to see him plotting in front of you."

"He spends a lot of time plotting. He should start acting on all the things he comes with him. A man with that much time spent thinking is bound to come up with at least one good idea."

"If you ask me, the longer he stays away from Sherwood, the better."

"Amen to that," Alan said, raising his glass in a toast. The others chuckled and made sounds of agreement, also raising their glasses, if they had them. Alan and Robin set the carcass down and began to butcher it out. "Who wants to bet it's a week before they notice?"

"We don't have the funds," Robin replied. "I still need to remind you of this, Alan?" Alan shook his head but continued to smile jovially as they worked.

"Which of you lads wants to bet a drink?" John asked. Robin closed his eyes and sighed, and he restricted his focus to the skinning of the venison. John clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, lad, buck up, will ya."

"Incredibly lame joke aside, I'm afraid I can't stop focusing on the fact that we're strapped, the sheriff is waiting for us, and no one else knows what we're facing, what that wretch is." Robin was now standing and pointing in the direction of the town of Nottingham. Nearly every other Merry Man was staring at him in shock, except a few who were winking and sniggering amongst themselves. Robin took a deep breath and lowered his hand to his side. "Don't deny it," he said coldly. "We're facing a devil, and we all know it."

"Don't say we don't."

Robin gestured to Alan. "This idiot is acting like it. How can you stand for this, John?"

"What're you so worried about?" Will asked. "That bastard hasn't found this place yet, and odds are good that he won't. Not now, not the way he's operating. Sure, he's powerful, but he's not that good."

"He gets better every day, and I'm the only one that feels it, and none of you have any idea how much this frustrates me."

"You wanna be a cocky, self-centered son of a bitch, be my guest, but be sure you get your sorry ass out."

Robin scoffed. "Why would I do that, when without me, you can't track the sheriff's movements? You said it yourself. You need me. If that's changed, all you need to do is let me know, not play this game with me."

"What're you going to do when this threat passes?"

"How do you know it will? I doubt I'm the only cocky one in this group. I'm just the only one with the will to do anything." John punched Robin across the temple, and Robin responded in kind. The brawl continued for several moments before Will and Alan separated them.

"That's enough for one day," Alan said. "Obviously what we have are two hotheads and not enough space to contain their tempers." Several Merry Men laughed at his jest. John and Robin separated themselves for the moment, and only after several stiff drinks did they begin speaking to each other again.

OUAT

"...and so begins the tale of the Thief," Mary Margaret said, marking the page in a book Henry had checked out from the library. She had only hesitated to censor one sentence.

Instantly hands in the class went up and questions were asked. "Please, please, one at a time," she said.

One kid asked, "Was the sheriff really that bad?"

"I don't know. I'm afraid that's been...lost to time."

Another asked, "Was Nottinghamshire sealed off at one point like the book claims?"

"Again, I can't be sure. These are very, very good questions. What do you think about the Robin Hood character? He's not usually this angry, is he?" This raised even more discussion. Mary Margaret couldn't help but give a proud smile.

OUAT

Emma studied the portrait of Rumpelstiltskin's son that the imp had handed over. According to the imp in question, the boy's name was Baelfire, though Rumpelstiltskin expressed doubt that that would be what he would presently be going by, wherever he was. She took a sip of some hot chocolate with cinnamon and lay the charcoal sketch on the table in front of her. "Got a new case, I see," Granny said when she came by Emma's table.

"Yep, and I don't even know where, when, or how to start," Emma replied. "I am dealing with inter-dimensional travel here."

"You're better qualified than most of the rest of us, that's for sure."

"But I grew up here. Here magic's not supposed to exist. Here, fairy tales are fairy tales. They're not real. Here, things like this don't happen. Sure, kids go missing all the time, but they're easy to find. They don't travel across realms to parts unknown. That's not how things work here, in my world."

Granny sat down across from her and folded her hands on the table. "It sounds like, in spite of all your experiences, you still have problem with seeing beyond what's in front of you. Do you believe in magic?"

"It exists."

"No. Do you believe in magic? Do you honestly believe in magic? Can you see and understand everything all at once? If you can, then you believe."

"I thought we solved that question a long time ago."

"You at least opened yourself up to the possibility. Now you have to open your mind some more and start truly seeing how magic weaves everything together." Emma knit her brow. "All it takes is a little relaxation. Sometimes we see it in our dreams."

"We as in you, the fairy tale characters."

Granny nodded. "Get some rest, take a little break, revisit this after a few days, after you've calmed down after everything that happened. Maybe take up meditation, whatever works for you. Then see what happens."

"You think that'll work?" Granny smiled and nodded, and then she got out of the booth and went about the rest of her workday. Emma chewed her lip and stared at the sketch of Baelfire, digesting what Granny had said.


	19. Names and Stories

Names and Stories

Bae glanced down at the forest floor just long enough to step over a fallen branch, and then he looked up again. "So I gather you two didn't get along well," he said to John.

"Oh, we got on well," John replied. "We just disagreed about certain things."

"Important things, by the sounds of it."

"Yeah, well, what can be done?" Bae bit his lip. John struck him as a pessimist who had essentially given up on life. No wonder he and Robin had that falling out. John eyed Bae for a moment and asked, "What're you going to do about it? Not like you can take on the Sheriff. You met him. You know what it's like."

"I also know he can be fought. I've tried it, and so far I've been successful."

"Doubt that'll last forever."

"Nothing lasts forever. I'm not that stupid."

"Yes, you are, if you think that good magic, if it exists, is more powerful than dark magic." Bae paused. That was exactly how he scolded himself when he landed in Neverland, not that John would know that.

"I never said that," he said.

"I'm sure you're thinking it."

"Doesn't matter what I'm thinking."

"So what do you believe?"

"If you're ready to give up, you've already lost, and not only that, that makes you a coward. If you don't want to face the threat, then you are no worse than the village coward. That's what I believe."

John stopped and turned to face Bae. "You think I'm a coward?"

"You talk like one, even worse than one driven solely by fear, because your pride leads you to deny it." John scoffed, and without another word, Bae turned and forged ahead.

OUAT

Emma tilted her head back on her pillow and sighed. She wondered why she picked up this particular version of Robin Hood, and then she remembered that Henry needed it for class and she had decided to preview it first, like a good mother should. The book was divided in three sections; the tales of the Thief, Sensitive, and Warrior, respectively; and the frame story was that of some random mage whom the author didn't even bother to name. She'd narrowed that down to two possibilities: Rumpelstiltskin and the Dark One before him, whatever his name was.

She exhaled again and tried to remember why Henry asked for this book. Maybe it was because he wanted to learn more about being a hero and keep his next efforts from failing. She explained to him that people learned their most important lessons from mistakes, but she wasn't sure how much of an effect that had on the boy. Even so, she fully supported his education, and she did want to be involved. This just seemed to present the perfect opportunity.

She picked her head up and continued reading.

OUAT

Bae walked all the way to another point on the edge of the forest. He could barely feel the old, faded protection spell cast on this place. It might have been able to hold off the Sheriff at one point, but at the present, it needed a lot of work.

But that was the least of his concerns. In the town in the valley stretching out before him was Morraine. He was sure of it, and so far, he was the only one he was aware of that was willing to get her back.

Footsteps distracted his attention, and he turned to face Alan. "What're you doing here?" he asked.

"Looking for you. You've caused quite a stir," Alan replied. They stood side by side, looking out over the town. "Nottinghamshire would be beautiful if the hand that ruled it wasn't made of iron."

"Less iron and more hideous black magic."

"Figure of speech."

"Do you use those a lot?"

Alan nodded. "Can you feel magic? As the legend says?"

"What legend?"

"They've come to the conclusion that a sensitive is the only person that can save them," John said behind them. Neither of them turned to look at him.

"Have you?"

"Depends on who's asking and how drunk I am."

"It seems to me that a sensitive can control the energies around him, to an extent. Therefore their conclusion makes some reasonable sense, does it not, Alan?"

"That depends on how you look at the phrase 'reasonable sense', I think. Most of our contemporaries don't even like the thought of magic and believe it the devil's nonsense."

"It is," John said.

"This magic, yes," Bae said, "but there is also good magic."

"What good will that do us now?"

"You can fix your shield, and I believe you should."

"Who do you think you are, boy?"

"I think," Bae said as he turned to face John, "I am Baelfire." John raised an eyebrow, and Bae added, "As a point of fact, I know I am Baelfire."

"Baelfire, you say?" John asked. Neither Bae or Alan could be sure if his amazement was genuine. "Do you know what that name means?"

"I'm a poor village boy," Bae replied. "I can't even read."

"The name Baelfire means 'great fire'."

"Interesting. You learn something new every day." John shrugged. "I figure you anticipate that this knowledge will have some use to me in the future."

"I'm an old man. My wisdom has to be good for something."

Bae nodded. "Thank you."

"Well, lad, you do know a few things, in spite of your upbringing." John clapped him on the back and disappeared into the forest.

"Does he always appear and disappear out of nowhere?" Bae asked Alan.

"You have no idea," Alan replied with a smirk.


	20. True Love's Kiss

True Love's Kiss

Robin paced around the edge of Sherwood Forest, feeling out the Barrier placed around the forest and finding, disconcertingly, that it was worn and faded. It needed to be recast, which meant he needed to venture into Nottingham and find a wizard. At least he could tell the real thing from the dozens of local charlatans that seemed to flood the town, but avoiding the Sheriff was a whole other matter entirely. So Robin slipped back through the forest to the Greenwood Tree, retrieved his bow and quiver and a purse of gold coins, just in case, and set out on the well-worn path that would lead him right to the village.

Beyond Sherwood proper, he was struck by how quiet the forest was. There was now birdsong or squirrel chatter or even the sounds of hooves on the forest floor. Considering that it was treason to poach the king's game, which was pretty much every animal in England, this development was quite troubling. He crossed the bridge, keeping his steps even, knowing full well that the Sheriff would be paying close attention to his every move. He had to look like he was running errands or doing something equally superficial.

Nottingham was abuzz with activity, moreso than struck Robin as normal, and he instinctively moved toward the source of it. In the town square was the statue of a terrified peasant girl. Robin was instantly struck by her beauty.

"They call her Maid Marian," said a voice behind him. Startled, he turned to face an old man in a cloak. "Don't try to wake her, though. Her true love hasn't yet arrived."

"Excuse me?" Robin asked.

"She's been suspended outside of time and frozen. He has not."

"Who immortalizes a terrified girl?"

"Who else?" Robin blanched. "Something tells me your errand isn't for the girl."

"N-no," he managed. "Sherwood-"

"I know about Sherwood. The time will come soon, however, when such problems will, for want of a better word, disappear."

"Who could..."

"There is another sensitive, in another land. He is seeking something and will try to find it, but sadly, that isn't to be yet."

"Who are you? What are you? How can you speak thusly?"

The figure pulled his hood back, revealing strands of white hair and a rectangular face. "Here I have no name, but I'm not from this land. For your purposes, my identity is irrelevant." The man disappeared, and Robin looked around, peering through the crowd gathered around the sick statue. He truly had vanished, but someone else had appeared.

The black-clad Sheriff and his army of unearthly soldiers. Demons. Wretched creatures. Robin turned and moved through the crowd, glancing at them occasionally but keeping himself as calm as possible. The demons came close to him when he slipped back into the forest, through another well-worn road, but he had escaped them that time.

OUAT

Bae woke Alan in the middle of the night and strapped his quiver to his hips. "What are you doing?" Alan asked.

"I think I know what happened to Morraine," Bae replied, "and I have to go get her."

"In Nottingham? Are you nuts?"

"Get your bow and arrow or whatever you fight with and let's go."

"You're losing your mind, if it was there to begin with."

"I love this girl, and she needs me right now. If you're not coming with me, I'm going by myself." Something flashed in Alan's eyes. "Arm yourself so we can go." Alan struggled to his feet and grabbed a staff resting next to the Greenwood Tree, and he and Bae started for the path to Nottingham.

"How did you come by your plan?" Alan asked at one point.

"In a dream. I recognize the wizard especially. Old, with a long face, balding, wears a cloak."

"He was the wizard that pulled you from the tunnel, or made sure you ended up here. Do you know his name?"

"No. He was a beggar I met in my village once. He said he wasn't from this realm, so they are the same person. I just need to figure out how it's possible."

"They say that when we die, our souls go to Heaven or Hell, based on how well we've behaved in life."

"What are Heaven and Hell?"

"They're different worlds. One is paradise, and the other is, well, Hell." Bae creased his brow. "It's basically a fiery pit of eternal torture."

"Oh. These worlds...are they linked to this one?"

"I don't know. No one's ever come back, not that I know. Sometimes there are ghosts, but they're souls that haven't crossed over."

"So the doors, if they exist and they surely must, are one way."

"Exactly." Bae nodded. Even though this new world worked and thought differently, making sense of it was not impossible. "So what world are you from?"

"We call it the Enchanted Forest or the Enchanted Kingdom. Name a tale you are familiar with."

"The Girl in the Tower."

"I found that tower in the forest, wandering around as a village boy does." Alan blinked at him. "Anything else?"

"I think I've had enough for now." They lapsed into a comfortable silence as they walked.

OUAT

"Here," Bae said, and they stopped in the square of Nottingham, facing the statue of the screaming girl.

"As far as works of art go, wow," Alan replied.

Bae stepped up to the statue and took in her face, but he didn't need to. He knew instinctively that this was Morraine. He wasn't sure if true love's kiss would work in this land, with the magic around him in the state that it was, but he had to try. "Let me know if anyone finds us," he said to Alan, and he leaned closer to the petrified Morraine. "I'm here now," he whispered to her. He released a breath and licked his upper lip, and then he kissed the girl on the cheek.

Magic shot between them, and he felt it run deep into the earth. He stumbled back and stared in awe as the stone cracked in several places. Light shone through the cracks, and as they spread, the glow brightened. A force from within expelled the pieces of stone, and Morraine gasped and collapsed on top of Bae. "Thank you," she said through her breathing. Her voice was ragged, as if she hadn't been breathing for a while. Bae suspected that that was true. He took her into his arms and noticed that the sword was missing. "He...him..." she managed. Bae turned and found himself staring at the Sheriff, who was holding Alan at the point of a sword.


	21. Fleeing from Nottingham

Fleeing from Nottingham

Morraine nodded to Bae, and he set her down. She walked over to Alan and the Sheriff, staggering slightly. She held her hand out, and the weapon jerked in the Sheriff's hand. Alan gasped and shrank away from the blade. Morraine kept her gaze fixed on the weapon, and Bae immediately felt the struggle of wills develop between the two parties. The winner would gain possession of the magical blade and the advantage over the other.

Bae's eyes flickered to Alan and then to his fallen bow and quiver, on the cobblestones of the square. Then he reached for his own weapon and nocked an arrow. He drew back and aimed square between the Sheriff's eyes. "Release Alan," he said.

"Return the girl to me," the Sheriff replied.

"Actually, I'm taking them both with me."

"Then Alan a-Dale dies." Bae fired. The Sheriff ducked. The distraction allowed Morraine to free the weapon from his clutches. Alan ran for his weapons and scrambled backward, facing the scene playing out in the square. "Maybe Alan doesn't have to die after all," Bae said evenly.

"You're in my town, now, boy," the Sheriff growled, conjuring a cloudy black orb in the palm of his hand. Instinctively, Bae shrank back and drew another arrow. Alan did the same. Morraine held the sword aloft.

"Three on one," she said. "Not good odds, regardless of whether you have magical powers or not." The Sheriff shot the orb toward Bae. It left a trail of black smoke curling in its wake. Morraine held the sword in front of him, and the orb dispersed the second it struck the blade. "Cute trick."

"Oh, I'm glad you think so, my lady. I know plenty." He turned to Morraine, and Bae fired. The arrow struck him in the skull, and the Sheriff turned to him and plucked the arrow from his temple. Bae blinked in surprise as the wound healed before their very eyes. Alan began to pray under his breath and backed even further away from the Sheriff. Bae stared in awe for several moments before running for both of his arrows and cleaning the bloody one off on his tunic before returning it to his quiver. Morraine stepped around the Sheriff, following Bae's path and keeping the sword aloft.

Bae threw a glance over his shoulder at Alan, pale and sweating, eyes wide with terror, mouth murmuring prayers Bae would have to ask him about later. The Sheriff turned to them, and Bae mouthed something to Morraine, who nodded. He thought about telling Alan, but considering the latter's present state, he deemed that unwise. He and Morraine separated and moved to opposite sides of the Sheriff. The Sheriff looked between them and finally turned to Alan, who bolted back to the forest. The Sheriff turned to follow, and Bae stepped in front of him. "I don't think so," he said.

"Who are you to stop me?" the Sheriff replied.

"There are two of us, remember?" Morraine said to him, pointing the sword level with his heart. "Can you fight two people at once?"

"I've faced worse odds."

"Have you?" Bae asked. "You seem like the type to always travel with a group. Demons, I believe they're called."

"What do you know about them?"

"I know they don't stick with you when you're facing down a sensitive, not unless you know you can get away with the kill. I can't tell if you're cocky or stupid, or both. I need more information."

"You have a working impression of me? Oh, how sweet."

"Or sour, depending on your perspective," Morraine said. The Sheriff turned to face her, and she was overwhelmed with the urge to right-hook that smirk right off of his self-righteous, slimy face. "Tell me you're not thinking of freezing me again."

"What's the matter, my lady? Are you afraid?" He was more fully facing her and taking a step forward.

Bae took a deep breath and said, "Morraine, duck." Then, with all his power, he forced the Sheriff's energy away, as far away as he could make it go. The man flew through the air, rolling end over end and screaming. Morraine ducked on cue and stared at Bae for a moment. Then she looked over her shoulder at the Sheriff, still flying. When she turned back to Bae, she was smiling.

"Wow," she whispered.

He walked up to her and took her shoulders in his hands. "Are you alright? Did all that talking hurt your throat?"

"I'm fine. I think I just need a little water. I wasn't frozen for long." She rubbed her throat.

"It's going to be alright, alright?"

She smiled at him, and he kissed her. "It's much easier when you're not screaming." They both laughed, and he led her out of Nottingham. "You're going to like the Merry Men, but this is going to take a lot of explaining. John is a little bit stubborn."

She laughed. "I can imagine."

When they rejoined Alan, he looked over his shoulder and then turned to face Bae. "How did you do that?"

"There is a legend in our land that a kiss of true love can do anything," Bae replied. "Surely you have legends of great loves in this land."

"Our legends of great love end in death."

"Why on earth is that?" Morraine asked.

"Presumably because great tragedy ensures that a story will endure."

"I hope that doesn't happen to us."

"Me, too," Bae added, giving Morraine a squeeze. They laughed, and Alan turned to face their path again. Something made the hair on the back of Bae's neck stand, and he released Morraine and turned. The Sheriff was standing and approaching them. "Oh, how fun," Bae muttered.

"Any ideas?" Alan asked.

"Split up. You go to Sherwood, tell them what's happened to us here. We'll go elsewhere."

"Where?"

"Not here."

"Good luck with that." Alan bolted for the forest nonetheless.

Morraine shot a glance to her right and then pulled Bae in that direction. Sure enough, when she glanced over her shoulder, she found that the Sheriff had followed them rather than Alan. "Wonder why you're so important," she said.

"I can feel magic," Bae replied. "Be careful."

"I'll be fine. I have you."

"And if I'm not enough?"

"You don't think highly enough of yourself."

They found themselves running through thick forest, silent save for the sound of water flowing over rocks in the distance. She steered him toward the stream, and they stopped on a rock. She hastily drank some water, shook off her hands, and turned to Bae. "What about Peter Pan?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied.

"You can feel magic."

"I don't know how well, though, or what relation this world is to the one my father is in." Morraine nodded. "When the Sheriff...froze you, did you notice anything?"

"What do you mean?"

He licked his lip. "Was there anything that could've been used as a portal, or for other magical purposes?"

Morraine bowed her head and blinked rapidly. "The chamber was dark," she said at length. "A peasant's cottage, I believe. Torchlit, but the torch was low. I couldn't see much, and I didn't get a chance to." Bae nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "Is he close?"

"Probably lost by now. I don't feel him coming closer." Morraine nodded.

"Thanks for coming back for me."

"Why would I not?"

"I know you would, but it's nice seeing that in action." Bae smiled. Morraine nodded to him and turned to the river. "Where to now?"

"I don't know. We're both strangers in a strange land. It's just as dangerous for us to get lost as it is for him, if not moreso because we're new here."

"Well, with your sensitivity, at least we can manage to keep our distance." Bae nodded. Morraine stepped deftly onto the rocks in the stream and looked over her shoulder to make sure he followed.

"I thought we were strangers in a strange land."

"We are, but nearly every forest I've experienced is the same, even the Nowhereland."

They crossed the river, and Bae looked over his shoulder. As far as he could feel, the Sheriff was nowhere near them. He turned back to Morraine and alighted on the other bank. Together, they moved deeper into the forest. At the edge of his mind, he felt the edge of Sherwood proper. "We're still in Nottinghamshire, or whatever this area is called," he said. "See, I have some sense of direction here." She laughed, and then she stopped cold. "What is it?"

"Do you hear that?"

He closed his eyes and listened. "Deer?" he asked after a long moment. Her lips curled in a smile, and he knew she'd been taking mental notes about her surroundings. "We're reaching the edge of his historic influence."

"Yes, exactly. That means we're closer and closer to safety."

"Indeed it does."

"So let's keep going. Anywhere's better than Nottingham." They resumed walking.


	22. And So It Begins

And So It Begins

Peter spent several days hiding in the forest. The Dark One had terrified him away from venturing too far into the strange city, though he was told to tell him immediately if he had found anything new on the boy he had traveled with. Good luck with that, he told himself, a little bit of Pan shining through in that moment.

It was strange. When Weirdo negotiated with him, it brought back his reason, brought some level of him back into himself. He didn't know how to describe his state of mind, and he didn't know anyone who could, but he certainly knew something was going on. Whether or not he liked it was another matter entirely, though on that he could answer that he actually felt kind of nice having peace of mind.

So he learned his way around the forest and left sorting his mind out to the time he had at night, that wasn't devoted to learning the art of survival through trial and error. He also did everything in his power to avoid contact with the magical forces of the town, regardless of moral affiliation. Magic hadn't always had the best effect on him.

He had come to strongly suspect that magic had given him the idea that it would be a fantastic idea to be young forever and have fun for all eternity in a land of his own fashioning, and look how that worked out for him. He was now orphaned, homeless, possibly crazy, and in a strange land, and he had no idea what he was going to do with himself.

Finally, after several days of roaming the forest and working on his survival skills, his mind alighted on an idea. He had gotten Weirdo and the Seer into a realm, be it this one or some other one, or in this realm but times past, and only he had reached his intended destination. That was only because something had intervened. Usually the journey was easy, or so he had been told, but now he had experienced the touch of something more evil than the Dark One.

That was a very serious problem, and it was a very specific magic.

But therein lay the solution. If it was specific to this realm, then it was possible to track down, and then he could find Weirdo and the Seer that way. Since the Dark One wanted to find them, perhaps he could win some favor helping out that way. If he could figure out how the magic in this realm worked, since it was obvious even to him that it was different.

So Peter switched gears and started working out his surroundings on a different level than just trying to survive in them, and he set to work on a spell to get the Seer and Weirdo back.

OUAT

Emma lay half asleep in the room she now shared with her long-lost family, thinking about what Granny had said and the strange version of Robin Hood that it seemed only this town possessed. Her mind started to wonder, and she felt a strange heaviness settle into her limbs. Her already blurry gaze unfocused further, and then she felt something.

It was soothingly familiar, and it conjured up images of ogres and forests and trolls and giants and pirates and castles in ruins. It reminded her of her birthplace, witches, ashes, magical trees, and portals to other worlds.

Then a strange possibility made itself known to her. A portal could be opened to this world, and if it was done in a place that didn't immediately have a corresponding location in Storybrooke, there was no telling where the traveler or travelers could end up. Or when, now that she honestly thought about it.

She found the answer to the question that had eluded science for years, and it was magical in nature. Time travel could be accomplished through a complicated series of tunnels between realms that hardly anyone knew existed.

Startled awake, she reached for the copy of Robin Hood that Mary Margaret had been teaching from. Without fully knowing why, she turned to the tale of the Sensitive.

OUAT

The faded Barrier around Sherwood was at their back when Bae and Morraine stopped to rest. Bae scanned their surroundings and then closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to relax as much as possible. Beyond the Barrier, he thought he could sense the Merry Men arming themselves and preparing for war, but he was sure he could feel the Sheriff and his army of demons moving through the woods, keeping their distance.

"That doesn't look good," Morraine said when Bae opened his eyes.

"It isn't. The Merry Men have to come out of Sherwood eventually, and it looks like a storm is brewing." She tightened her grip on the hilt of the sword, and he examined each and every one of the arrows in his quiver, making sure they were all in perfectly usable condition.

"You're going to need new ones someday."

"I'll get them if I can secure the funds."

"All you need is a rope and an unwitting nobleman."

Bae smirked. "I've always wanted to live on the edge as a highway robber."

"I'm sure you did, Bae," Morraine said with a smile. "A life of adventure, always fighting for your life, lawmen at every turn. I'm sure it all must have appealed to you at some point, on some level."

Bae returned the arrows to his quiver, still waiting for the dark forces to close in. "I wasn't picturing something quite so intense, but rather something beyond the village, beyond being the coward's son. What's wrong with a little adventure to fulfill that?"

"Nothing. Nothing in the least."

Bae nocked an arrow. The Sheriff was closing in. "Be ready," he said simply, stepping between Morraine and the energy he could feel emanating from the Sheriff. Sherwood was at his back, he reminded himself. She slipped the sword out of her belt and held it aloft.

Another presence flickered to his left. He threw a glance in that direction but didn't turn his weapon away from the direction of the Sheriff. Then he recognized the newcomer as the benevolent presence that also tried to pull him out of the tunnel Peter had created for them. He wasn't exactly good, per se, but compared to the Sheriff, he could have been a saint. Or a fairy. He wanted to redirect his attention to the newcomer, but he couldn't allow that of himself with the Sheriff approaching them and ready for war.

He exhaled and raised his bow and arrow, peering into the shadows for any sign of the Sheriff and finally spotting the black clouds swirling around the trunks of the trees. The bow and arrow would not be the suitable weapon in this case. He slipped his arrow back into its quiver and his bow onto his back, and he breathed deeply to settle his nerves.

The black tendrils of smoke stopped. "Wow," Morraine whispered.

"It gets worse," he replied.

"I meant..."

"That? I haven't figured out exactly how that works yet."

The smoke surged forward, and Bae pushed back, still keeping Morraine behind him. She kept her grip on the sword and peered over Bae's shoulder at the approaching Sheriff. The man took shape just a yard in front of them and continued advancing, sword in hand. Then and only then did Bae defer to Morraine and turn his attention to the newcomer, part of his attention on the sword fight going on behind him.

The shape of the beggar took shape before him, and Bae knew once and for all that he was not, nor had he ever been, an ordinary peasant.

OUAT

Rumpelstiltskin had sensed Emma's revelation before she could even define what had happened to her, and he slipped into the basement and set to work almost immediately. The spell itself should be simple, but with the magic base being what it was and the circumstances having changed drastically since he set out on this mission, he couldn't be sure.

The one thing he was sure of was that if his son couldn't find his way to Storybrooke, then Rumpelstiltskin needed a way to get to him. This reunion must be accomplished.


	23. Potential Solution

Potential Solution

"So appearances really are deceiving," Bae said, watching the peasant but listening to the fight and keeping track of who was gaining and losing ground. "What stake do you have in this?"

"You will save us," the wizard replied.

"Us?"

"The spirits of Dark Ones past."

"And you accomplish this by sending me to..."

"Nottinghamshire, eleven eighty-seven, in the land without magic."

"Where Rumpelstiltskin is?"

"He added magic, or he will, since by this land's timeline, he hasn't arrived yet and won't for almost a millennium."

"Right place, wrong time."

"Exactly, but you're closer to your goal than you think, and what happens when you get there will be beyond your imagining."

"I think I'm getting to know that really well."

"The Sheriff is just the beginning. Most don't know this, but this world at this time is plagued with evils. There's a reason Robin Hood becomes so famous for being a hero."

"Robin Hood was kidnapped, never to be seen or heard of again."

"They won't know that."

"You know what? I don't know about the evils of this world, and I don't want to find out. I want to find my father. That's all."

"That's a rough road you have ahead of you."

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Exactly. Otherwise you wouldn't be on this path."

"So I'm being manipulated by the likes of you and whoever else you work with in this world? Do what you need to do by yourself, on your own time. I am going to go to my father. It's been far too long, and I don't intend for it to be longer."

The wizard shrugged. "Suit yourself. Enjoy the trip." Then he disappeared in a puff of smoke, and Bae turned to the fight, arrow drawn.

"Are you quite done?" Morraine asked.

"Done, and angry," he replied. He took a deep breath, and an idea formed in his mind. He drew on the Sheriff's own energy, pulling it toward the shaft of his arrow but keeping it off his hands. Tendrils of black smoke snaked around the arrow, and he fired, striking the Sheriff in the shoulder. He cried out, and Morraine fell back and ducked behind a tree.

The Sheriff wheeled on Bae and launched himself at him. Bae ducked to the side, concentrating on the energy of the arrow and forcing it deeper into the wound. The Sheriff crumpled, clutching his wound, but he still managed to stumble forward. Bae continued to force the energy deeper and then spread it out. The Sheriff's leg gave out beneath him, and he was forced to his knees. Bae turned and dashed into the forest.

Morraine turned from her hiding place and followed him, but she didn't get very far before needing to duck to the side. Bae turned and also ducked, but a black orb nicked him on the shoulder and sent him spinning backward. It was like that witch in the Enchanted Forest all over again, only this time his sensitivity was good for something. He turned to face the Sheriff one more time, and Morraine snapped, "Are you crazy?"

"I don't know," Bae replied. The Sheriff limped toward him, readying another orb for launch. Morraine raised the sword and lunged toward Bae. She turned toward the Sheriff, the blade parallel to the ground. The orb connected with the flat of the blade, and there was a great flash of light originating from that very point. Bae wrapped his arms around Morraine's shoulders and abdomen.

The flash dissipated, and when he peered out from behind the veil of Morraine's hair, Bae found that the Sheriff was standing in front of them. Gingerly, he released Morraine. "So you do love this girl," the Sheriff said with a sneer.

"It wouldn't make any difference to you either way," Bae replied.

"Actually it would. This way, your death would be much more enjoyable."

"Who says I'm going to let you kill me?"

"That's half the fun." Morraine launched herself at the Sheriff, swinging the sword at his neck. He caught the blade in his hand and tried to wrench it away, but the blade pulsed with light. Morraine's eyes widened, but she pulled the sword back and made another attempt. The Sheriff ducked in a desperate attempt to avoid the blade. Bae drew another arrow and called on the Sheriff's energy. It worked once, with favorable results, so it could work again. He could tell right off that he was already weakened, so drawing energy out of him was an effort in and of itself, but somehow he managed it.

The Sheriff's energy flowed into the shaft of the arrow, and Bae took careful aim. Morraine continued to attack him, so he waited until she turned his back to him. Then he loosed the arrow right into the man's chest.

The Sheriff arched backward and sank to his knees, crying out in agony. Help would never come, Bae knew. The demons had all been scared away, possibly by his show of force. The Sheriff called on his power to try to disintegrate the arrow, but the effort instead made him pass out. "I think you may be on to something," Morraine said, lowering the sword.

"Maybe."

OUAT

John turned to Alan, regarding him coolly. "Looks like they can handle themselves," he said at length.

"You mean he figured out a way to take out the Sheriff?" Alan asked. He walked up to where John stood to see this development for himself. The Sheriff lay unconscious, and Bae and Morraine were walking toward Sherwood, hand in hand. "Sensitivity," he whispered, making some degree of sense out of the situation.

"Well, well, well. Looks like that old coot was right after all." John turned and walked back to Sherwood, and Alan trailed behind.


	24. Means of Exit

Means of Exit

"So," Belle said as she lay the napkin down on the table next to her plate and silverware and looked up at Rumpelstiltskin, known to the town now as Mr. Gold, though that was something she had difficulty coming to terms with. "What did you want to see me about?"

"There is something I'd like for you to participate in, as a spectator, mostly," he replied. His hands fidgeted.

"It involves magic, doesn't it?"

"I know you disapprove, but I believe I may have a way to cross the town line without losing my memories. I don't know how well this will work, or for how long."

"Which is why you want me there?"

"Which is why I'm extending the invitation in the event that this works."

"You're going to try this on someone else."

"Would I honestly take such a huge risk with myself?"

"Alright," she said decisively, holding her hands up. "If anyone asks, you said none of this to me."

"I did say none of this to you. You figured much of it out for yourself, and I have to say, I'm impressed."

"Thank you."

"If I fail, though, then the invitation will need to be postponed."

"Of course. You wouldn't do this unless you were confident you had something that worked."

"We'll see soon enough."

Belle nodded pointedly and returned to her French Fries and ketchup.

OUAT

Smee had spent the next week pondering how to escape from Rumpelstiltskin's basement. Save for being released for meals, he was continually bound to a chair, surrounded by all forms of odd knick-knacks and magical objects from lands he didn't know, whose purposes he couldn't even begin to imagine. There were also charcoal sketches of masterpiece quality. The detail, the scale, proportions, accuracy... Smee couldn't remember the last time he saw anything like the sketches in Rumpelstiltskin's basement.

The door opened, and he heard Rumpelstiltskin limped down the stairs to him. "Oh, Mr. Smee, you're up," he said amiably. Smee wondered if he could be blamed for having a panic attack. "I never properly thanked you for your help in locating the person in the portrait, but I'm afraid I have to...ask another favor."

"I'm so screwed," Smee muttered. "What do you need now?"

Rumpelstiltskin held up a glowing emerald vial. "You're going to drink some of this and cross the town line."

"Are you nuts?"

"Hopefully I'm just nuts enough for this to work." He pocketed the vial, pulled out his knife, and cut Smee's bindings. He secured Smee's wrists behind his back and shoved him up the stairs, out the door, and into his car.

Smee decided it would be useless to keep track of where he was going if he was going to lose his memories anyway, so he settled back in the car and waited until Rumpelstiltskin parked and forced half the emerald potion down his throat. Smee stepped out of the car of his own free will, resigned to his fate, and walked across the spray-painted red line without taking his eyes off the forest road beyond. He got two steps outside the town line and stopped. He should have been stopped by the Barrier by now and stripped of every memory from his existence in the Enchanted Forest.

Rumpelstiltskin smiled, even as Smee turned and fled into the forest outside Storybrooke's limits.

OUAT

Belle stepped out of the car, and Rumpelstiltskin closed the door behind her and escorted her up to the spray-painted line. This plan of his must have worked very well, otherwise she wouldn't be here. Rumpelstiltskin uncorked a vial, threw back its contents, and threw the vial aside. Then he stepped over the line and turned to face her. Belle's eyes widened. "What...what did you do?"

"I did it," Rumpelstiltskin whispered, approaching her. "I can leave."

"What does that mean? I thought..."

"Bae, when he comes back, could end up outside of Storybrooke. I needed to know if I could leave, in case that were to happen."

"He's not here already?"

"He had a little trouble in his travels."

"What kind of trouble?"

"He got a little lost. I'm working on finding him and bringing him home."

"Is this even his home now? I figure he'd be used to the village he grew up in, or wherever he ended up spending the bulk of his three hundred year absence, if he was absent for three hundred years. I'm...I'm not really sure how all this is supposed to work."

"It's going to work out just fine. I'm sure of it." He lay his hands on her shoulders as he spoke. She visibly relaxed.

"Do me a favor," she said. "Tell your son the truth."

"What makes you think I'd lie to him?"

"Women's intuition." Rumpelstiltskin lowered his hands and sighed. If Belle didn't catch him, Bae or Morraine or both would, and the words, while vague, offered little room for manipulation, his usual tactic. "Please. Tell him the truth."

He licked his upper lip, and with a conviction both of them felt, he said, "I will."


	25. Movements

Movements

Bae leaned against the Greenwood Tree and rubbed his eyes. The effort of what he had somehow managed to accomplish against the Sheriff was settling into his bones, and he figured he was much better off just feeling magic, rather than using his sensitivity to do anything good. Morraine sat next to him and leaned against him, suddenly reminded of the day after her escape from the Nowhereland, when they were leaning against a tree, watching the sun rise over the Enchanted Forest. Only this time, the sun was setting, casting its golden red light through the leaves and dappling the forest, creating a strangely magical blend of sunlight, the greenness of the foliage, and the earthy tones of the bark and forest floor, littered with dead leaves and, at least around the Greenwood Tree, a smattering of bread crusts and other bits of food, mostly bones.

Bae's head dropped to her shoulder, and he began snoring softly. She didn't blame him. He had looked exhausted, especially after the walk back into Sherwood, and he deserved the rest. She laced her fingers through his limp ones and sighed, one foot sliding along the forest floor. Other Merry Men were milling about, talking amongst themselves about recent events. Word spread quickly in a forest, especially when the only people you had to talk to made their living off of knowing anything and everything about their environment.

Alan and a man in scarlet walked over to them. "How is he?" the man in scarlet asked.

"He's fine," she replied. "Just resting from his effort earlier today."

"I heard about that."

"We all did, Will," Alan said to him.

"Yeah, where've you been?" Morraine asked in jest.

"Your legend precedes you," Will replied. "That's hardly any fault of mine."

"It's hardly a legend. Legends stand the test of time. This can fade into posterity without anyone knowing of it."

"Or, it can be a point in the life of a hero."

"That depends all on who you ask."

"It will be. I'm sure of it."

Morraine laughed and said, "Let him rest before he starts to live up to expectations." Will nodded, raised his cup, and walked off. Alan also nodded and left them, but Morraine noted he wasn't drinking wine or...whatever they were drinking. Bae shifted in his sleep, and she lay her head on top of his.

OUAT

Robin ventured back into Nottingham, armed as he was the first time, in search of a method to kill the Sheriff, only now he noticed that the statue was missing and the villagers were avoiding the square like the plague. Perhaps the wizard was right, he thought. A statue existing beyond time was one of the less unusual things he'd encountered, admittedly, but it was also the least of his problems.

He scanned the village, waving at a few people who met his gaze but keeping his eyes and mind open for anything useful: herbs, spices, charms, amulets, and the like. No one was selling anything, and what he did feel was being put to use by home witches in their kitchens, equally for mundane as for magical purposes.

What was worse, the more he roamed the village, the more he felt vestiges of the Sheriff's influence, which was still strong. Mixed with the vestiges was something else. He and his devils were here, he knew at once, and they were following him, surrounding him.

Robin Hood stood in the square, nocked an arrow, and turned to the shadow of evil he was most convinced was the Sheriff. He drew back and narrowed his eyes, peering down the shaft and waiting.

Out of the black clouds closing in on the town, the Sheriff and two of his minions emerged in the form of armed men. The two men flung their hands out, splaying their fingers, and tendrils of smoke wrapped around Robin's legs. He gasped, dropping his weapon, and struggled for the first two seconds of the ordeal, only to find that struggling would increase the sting in his legs. Seconds later, the smoke had fully engulfed him, and he was rigid with pain and fear.

OUAT

Bae snapped his eyes open, jolted awake by some sound, though in or out of the dream world he couldn't tell. Maybe it was the dream itself, the feel of the Sheriff's dark magic creeping up his body and sealing it in a cocoon of evil. The last dream he had about this world led him directly to Morraine, and in his heart of hearts he knew he'd been told the truth, so he had no reason to doubt what he'd seen this time. He remembered John's mention of Robin's kidnapping, Alan's mention of a botched rescue, and everything he'd learned about the mysterious figure known as Robin Hood, the one they all thought was dead.

A sickening revelation settled into his stomach, chilling him to the core as he reached for his bow and arrows, some of which he noted showed signs of wear. Morraine was right. He needed to replace them...at some other time, when their fight was over and they could focus on the one ahead.

He turned to Morraine, seriously contemplating waking her and telling her what he had come up with, and he reached over and touched her on the shoulder. "What?" she asked.

He squatted beside her. "I think I know what happened to Robin Hood."

"Bae, what are you doing?" Morraine asked, watching Bae pack up their small camp and start back toward Sherwood.

"Preparing for war," Bae said. "The Sheriff will certainly want revenge for my showing him up, and as for Robin..."

"Do you think this'll work?"

"We need to do something. I can feel the circle tightening around us."

Morraine gripped the sword. "Then we both fight."

He smiled over his shoulder at her. "I thought you'd say that." Side by side, they walked through the underbrush and began to awaken the others.


	26. The Archer

The Archer

"You want to tell her?" Belle asked.

"Well, of course. With what I'm getting into, I figure it benefits me to be as open as possible," Rumpelstiltskin replied.

"So it makes you look good."

"In all honesty, yes. You can never be too prepared, Belle, especially in troubled times."

"Oh, times are troubled, alright."

"Yes. Hook and Cora are about to dock in Storybrooke, bringing their own set of problems, and Emma has no idea what kind of magical power she has. Quite frankly I'm not sure I want to be present if she turns evil and decides to destroy the town."

"What are the odds of that?"

"Right now, quite slim."

"Thank goodness."

"Very much agreed, Belle."

"And, um, your son?"

"In this realm, possibly, but the time period is off."

"So...do you know when he is?"

"Not exactly, not yet."

"You'll find him."

"I won't stop until I do."

OUAT

Bae, Morraine, and the Merry Men lined the inside of the fading Sherwood Barrier. Bae kept both his bow and arrow and his mind ready, and he was alert to the slightest change in the position of the Sheriff and his men. He shuddered to think of the possibilities, but he knew they existed.

He glanced at Morraine, the blade at her side, tip touching the earth. Rumpelstiltskin had given her the means to protect him if she found him, disregarding the fact that Bae had learned to take care of himself. He shook these thoughts off and refocused his mind.

The Sheriff and his devils were moving swiftly and showing no signs of stopping. "Ready," Bae called, and then several moments later, "Aim if you can." The Sheriff was directly in front of him. Bae took a few deep breaths, drawing on his energy and channeling it deep into the shaft of the arrow, forcing as much of it into that single length of narrow wood as possible and only stopping when the shaft sizzled and cracked against his skin. By this point, though, the Sheriff was in plain view, sword raised and roaring with his charge. A small smile played on Bae's lips, and he fired.

On his signal, several other arrows plunged into the cloud, but, just as Bae suspected, there was return fire.

A figure stepped out of the shadows, a blond, black-eyed man in tattered Lincoln Green, his face all but cut to ribbon, possibly multiple times. He had yet another arrow ready, pointed directly at Bae's head. He spared a glance at the Sheriff, run through with an arrow and writhing in agony, calling on the shadows to come to his aid. He turned his full attention to the archer approaching him. "It's you," he said. The man's eyes widened, and he stopped his advance.

Morraine looked from Bae to the man and back again, debating whether or not she needed to plunge the blade in her hand deep into his chest. Bae and the archer continued to watch each other over the shaft of the latter's arrow. Bae purposefully kept his bow and arrow low, waiting for the other archer to relax.

The archer didn't lower his bow, but he did ask, "What's your name?"

"What do I call myself?" Bae asked to clarify. He knew too well how much power names had.

"What's your name?" Bae glanced at Morraine, who eyed the archer for a moment and then shook her head no. "You're going to take her advice?"

"I love her and value her opinion. Is that a problem?"

"I just asked for your name."

"I don't want to give it to you."

"How about I shoot you instead?"

"I know something has corrupted your mind. The Sheriff, perhaps?"

"You know nothing. You're a naive little boy that's barely sixteen. You've barely come of age, and what do you know of the world outside whatever poor village you came from?"

"I've been around. You'd be surprised at what I've seen, I think."

"Why do you say that?"

"I come from a land where legends abound, part of everyday life. I've been to a land where you can live forever and never age. To me, magic is a part of life."

"Join the club."

"I can see that, but you've been taken by wicked forces, against your will."

"How do you know that?"

"That's my business." He couldn't be too careful. The archer loosed the arrow. Bae ducked, and the arrow thunked harmlessly into a tree. He glanced at the Sheriff, who had gotten to his feet and was pulling the arrow from his chest. Bae didn't turn enough of the Sheriff's energy against him, but even the prospect of repeating the feat made him weary to his bones.

"Alright, young sensitive," the archer said, drawing another arrow. Bae still kept his weapons low. Names had power, perhaps more than weapons alone. The Sheriff and several of his devils moved toward him, the Sheriff staggering. Bae knew he had to time this perfectly.

Morraine cast an uncertain glance in his direction and then looked at the Sheriff.

Bae took a deep breath, keenly aware of the Sheriff's coming, and kept his gaze even, watching the archer's every move. After a long moment, he said, "Robin Hood."

"No, you foolish boy," the Sheriff shouted, lunging for them. Robin turned and loosed his arrow in the Sheriff's direction. The Sheriff ducked but continued his progress. Bae turned to Morraine and wrapped his fingers around the hand that held the sword.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"I'll need a little extra help if my plan for stopping him is going to work."

Robin Hood had aimed another arrow at the Sheriff, who paid it no heed, instead choosing to charge Bae and Morraine. Bae took a deep breath and focused on the blade the same way he did the arrows that did any meaningful damage to the Sheriff, pulling the Sheriff's own energy into the metal and waiting for the sting. Morraine inhaled sharply but held her ground. "This'll all be over soon," he whispered to her. Together, they raised the sword, swirling with black smoke. The denser the smoke became, the more Bae felt the sting. Morraine glanced at him and then looked at the Sheriff.

"You cannot kill me," the Sheriff roared.

"I have better ideas," Bae said. He and Morraine pulled the Sheriff into the blade, which ran straight through his chest. They tore the blade out of his body and stumbled back and to opposite sides of him. Robin loosed an arrow into the back of his skull. "I hope that does it."

The shadows rushed the couple and their fallen leader, sweeping past Robin as he turned to face his rescuer. "You really want to survive this?" he asked Bae. "Run." Bae and Morraine shrank back and watched Robin position himself between the Sheriff and the shadows, but they didn't run.

Robin kept a foot firmly planted on the Sheriff's back, keeping him on the ground in case he ever woke up. Bae personally doubted that would happen.

Morraine stepped even further back, her grip on the sword tightening. Bae pulled the arrow back to his full draw, watching Robin chant to himself, or rather, feeling it, as the energy of the situation built to levels he wondered whether or not the world could tolerate.

The shadows shrank back, and when Bae looked around, he noticed that several Merry Men were visibly relieved. Possibly they had run low on arms. If whatever Robin was doing failed, they were all screwed, Bae realized. If you want to survive this, he thought, remembering the archer's words, then run. He scanned the shadows, searching for their weakness. They were all rushing toward the wounded Sheriff, called to him to help him recover from what was otherwise a life-threatening wound, if not one that would kill immediately. "Run," he yelled. "Go south. Leave while you still can."

The Merry Men all looked at him, and after a tense moment when anything could have happened, John called, "You heard the boy. Fly, Merry Men. Fly." So they fled south, weapons and whatever else they could grab in tow. Bae noticed that John, Alan, and Will were the last to leave. He turned back to the archer, the Sheriff, and the shadows. Morraine touched him on the arm.

"We should go with them," she said. Bae shook his head. The changes he felt were profound now. Whatever Robin was doing, he was planning something big, and dangerous.

The shadows suddenly rushed him.


	27. Start of a Fight

Start of a Fight

Rumpelstiltskin studied the edition of Robin Hood that Emma had brought to his attention. He had a way to leave, which could prove useful in the future, for various reasons, but perhaps it wouldn't be necessary. He could feel things changing all around him, and while he couldn't tell if it was for the better or worse, he knew it was something powerful. The coming days would certainly be interesting.

OUAT

Robin Hood took a deep breath and forced the shadows to stop some three feet in front of his nose. The smoke spread out and touched the fading Barrier around Sherwood before coming to a full stop. With bow and arrow in one hand, Bae approached the Sheriff and pressed his hand to the unconscious man's nose. He wasn't breathing. They'd done it. He looked at Morraine, and Robin Hood turned to face them both. Bae noticed that his eyes were now blue. "Good work," he said to them. "And thank you." Bae nodded, standing and backing away from the body. The enormity of what had happened was only just settling into his mind.

The Sheriff had beaten Robin Hood, and it took Bae and Morraine their combined efforts and a little of Rumpelstiltskin's magic to defeat the Sheriff. Along with that, they freed Robin Hood from an evil spell, or so Bae could guess, but still Bae felt something evil lurking beneath the surface. "Do you feel that?" he finally asked.

"I'm not sure I'm as keen as you are, but I can guess at what you might be feeling."

"What?" Morraine asked.

"In this realm, he is known as Sir Guy of Gisborne."

"Another devil with an army like the Sheriff?"

"Actually, he's worse."

"I think he's also distant," Bae said. "Do you know any way we can find a place called Storybrooke?"

Robin knit his brow. "I've never heard of the place, but I believe I know someone who can find it," he said. "Do you believe there's time."

"There should be."

"Very well. I will help you get to Storybrooke, wherever that is. I owe you that and my protection for what you have done for me, for showing me the light again." Bae nodded. Robin glanced at the quiver on his hip. "Here, let me show you something." He walked into the clearing, scratched at the dirt until he unearthed a small rectangular box. He pulled it free of the earth and dusted it off before opening it. "Here," he said, handing Bae a fresh quiver. "You look like I could use the arrows."

"I...Thank you," Bae said, strapping the quiver to his other hip. Robin turned and started into the forest, inhaled sharply, and pinched the bridge of his nose. Morraine glanced at Bae, eyebrow raised, but Bae watched Robin. "Darkness still touches you."

"I'll be quite alright, thank you." He set off.

Morraine stepped up to Bae and whispered, "Are you sure?"

"I'll keep track of him," he replied. "If anything goes wrong, we'll be the first to know."

"I hope you're right."

He turned to face her. "I'm not going to let that happen to you again. You have my word." She kissed him and backed away, and Bae turned back to Robin Hood.

He found that Robin had collapsed, and a black, human-shaped, human-sized cloud hovered before him. "Looks like we're the first to know," she said.


End file.
